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Updated: Jun 30, 2025
Primary Endodermal Epithelial Cell Culture from the Yolk Sac Membrane of Japanese Quail Embryos
Published on: March 10, 2016
Embryonic methionine triggers post-natal developmental programming in Japanese quail
Sawadi F Ndunguru1,2,3, Gebrehaweria K Reda4,5,6, Brigitta Csernus6
1Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary. ndunguru@agr.unideb.hu.
Maternal L-methionine supplementation during embryonic development programs quail offspring. Enhanced nutrient sensing pathways lead to delayed but sustained growth effects, demonstrating transgenerational phenotypic plasticity.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Nutritional Programming
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Maternal effects significantly influence offspring phenotype during critical embryonic development stages.
- Oviparous species like birds rely on maternal resource deposition in eggs for post-natal adaptation.
- Mechanisms underlying maternal nutritional programming of embryonic development are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of simulated maternal nutritional transfer of L-methionine on embryonic development and post-natal trajectories in Japanese quail.
- To elucidate the role of insulin/insulin-like signalling (IIS) and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways in mediating nutritional programming.
- To determine the temporal dynamics of phenotypic and molecular changes following embryonic L-methionine exposure.
Main Methods:
- Japanese quail eggs were injected with L-methionine solution prior to incubation to simulate maternal nutritional transfer.
- Gene expression analysis of liver IGF1 and mTOR, and circulating IGF-1 levels were measured at hatching and three weeks post-hatching.
- Expression of RPS6K1, an mTOR downstream effector, was assessed at three weeks post-hatching.
Main Results:
- Methionine supplementation activated IIS/mTOR pathways, evidenced by increased liver IGF1 and mTOR gene expression at hatching.
- Offspring from supplemented eggs exhibited similar size at hatching but showed delayed phenotypic effects of increased growth apparent by one week and sustained for three weeks.
- Elevated circulating IGF-1 and hepatic RPS6K1 expression were observed three weeks post-hatching, indicating sustained pathway activation.
Conclusions:
- Specific embryonic nutritional cues, like L-methionine, can program offspring phenotype by sequentially activating nutrient-sensing pathways.
- These findings highlight the potential for transgenerational phenotypic plasticity mediated by early-life nutritional programming.
- The study reveals a sequential activation of nutrient-sensing pathways, influencing developmental trajectories and long-term phenotypic outcomes.
