Testing for context-dependent effects of prenatal thyroid hormones on offspring survival and physiology: an experimental temperature manipulation

Hsu, B.-Y., Sarraude, T., Cossin-Sevrin, N., Crombecque, M., Stier, A. and Ruuskanen, S. (2020) Testing for context-dependent effects of prenatal thyroid hormones on offspring survival and physiology: an experimental temperature manipulation. Scientific Reports, 10, 14563. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-71511-y) (PMID:32884067) (PMCID:PMC7471313)

Abstract

Abstract: Maternal effects via hormonal transfer from the mother to the offspring provide a tool to translate environmental cues to the offspring. Experimental manipulations of maternally transferred hormones have yielded increasingly contradictory results, which may be explained by differential effects of hormones under different environmental contexts. Yet context-dependent effects have rarely been experimentally tested. We therefore studied whether maternally transferred thyroid hormones (THs) exert context-dependent effects on offspring survival and physiology by manipulating both egg TH levels and post-hatching nest temperature in wild pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) using a full factorial design. We found no clear evidence for context-dependent effects of prenatal THs related to postnatal temperature on growth, survival and potential underlying physiological responses (plasma TH levels, oxidative stress and mitochondrial density). We conclude that future studies should test for other key environmental conditions, such as food availability, to understand potential context-dependent effects of maternally transmitted hormones on offspring, and their role in adapting to changing environments.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The project was funded by an Academy of Finland Grant (# 286278) to SR. BYH was supported by a Grant from The Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation, TS by a Grant from the University of Groningen, NCS by Erasmus+, Boussole Grand Est and EDUFI (TM-19-11246) Grants, MC by Erasmus+ and Boussole Grand Est Grants, and AS by a ‘Turku Collegium for Science and Medicine’ Fellowship.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Stier, Dr Antoine
• Authors: Hsu, B.-Y., Sarraude, T., Cossin-Sevrin, N., Crombecque, M., Stier, A., and Ruuskanen, S.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• ISSN (Online): 2045-2322
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © the Author(s) 2020
• First Published: First published in Scientific Reports 10:14563
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence

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