Limited Support for Thyroid Hormone or Corticosterone Related Gene Expression as a Proximate Mechanism of Incubation Temperature-Dependent Phenotypes in Birds

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dc.contributor.authorHope, Sydney F.en
dc.contributor.authorBuenaventura, Christopher R.en
dc.contributor.authorHusain, Zahabiyaen
dc.contributor.authorDuRant, Sarah E.en
dc.contributor.authorKennamer, Robert A.en
dc.contributor.authorHopkins, William A.en
dc.contributor.authorThompson, Christopher K.en
dc.contributor.departmentFish and Wildlife Conservationen
dc.contributor.departmentSchool of Neuroscienceen
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-24T19:02:09Zen
dc.date.available2019-10-24T19:02:09Zen
dc.date.issued2019-07-05en
dc.description.abstractThe conditions that animals experience during early development can have profound consequences for health and fitness. In birds, one of the most important aspects of development is egg incubation temperature. A small decrease in average temperature leads to various impacts on offspring phenotype, such as smaller body sizes, slower growth rates, and less efficient metabolic activity. Little is known, however, about the proximate mechanisms underlying these incubation temperature-induced phenotypic changes. Two important hormones which could play a proximate role are thyroid hormone and corticosterone, which mobilize stored energy reserves and coordinate the normal growth of tissues, particularly in the brain. Previous research shows that circulating blood concentrations of both hormones are influenced by incubation temperature, but the mechanism by which incubation temperature may lead to these changes is unknown. We hypothesized that incubation temperature induces changes in thyroid hormone and corticosterone regulation, leading to changes in expression of hormone-sensitive genes in the brain. To test this, we incubated wood duck (Aix sponsa) eggs at three different temperatures within the natural range (35.0, 35.8, and 37.0 degrees C). We measured mRNA expression of thyroid hormone-related neuroendocrine endpoints (deiodinase 2/3, thyroid hormone receptor alpha/beta, neural regeneration related protein, and Krueppel-like factor 9) in newly hatched ducklings and corticosterone-related neuroendocrine endpoints (mineralocorticoid receptor, glucocorticoid receptor, cholecystokinin, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor) in 15 day-old ducklings using qPCR on brain tissue from the hippocampus and hypothalamus. Contrary to our predictions, we found that mRNA expression of thyroid hormone-related endpoints in both brain areas were largely unaffected by incubation temperature, although there was a trend for an inverse relationship between mRNA expression and incubation temperature for several genes in the hypothalamus. We also found that mineralocorticoid receptor mRNA expression in the hypothalamus was lower in ducklings incubated at the low relative to the high temperatures. This study is the first to evaluate the effects of incubation temperature on mRNA expression of neuroendocrine endpoints in the developing avian brain and suggests that these particular endpoints may be largely resistant to changes in incubation temperature. Thus, further research into the proximate mechanisms for incubation temperature-induced developmental plasticity is needed.en
dc.description.notesThis work was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under the grant number 478969, the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences under the grant number R00ES022992, and is based upon the work financially supported by the United States Department of Energy under the award number DE-FC09-07SR22506 to the University of Georgia Research Foundation. The United States Department of Energy had no involvement in the study design, in collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data, or in the decision to publish this article. This work was also funded in part by the Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research, the Virginia Tech Institute for Critical Technologies and Applied Science, and the Virginia Tech Graduate Student Assembly Graduate Research Development Program. Funding for Open Access was provided by the Virginia Tech Open Access Subvention Fund and the Virginia Tech Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Science Foundation Graduate Research FellowshipNational Science Foundation (NSF) [478969]; National Institutes of Environmental Health SciencesUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) [R00ES022992]; United States Department of EnergyUnited States Department of Energy (DOE) [DE-FC09-07SR22506]; Sigma Xi; Virginia Tech Institute for Critical Technologies and Applied Science; Virginia Tech Graduate Student Assembly Graduate Research Development Program; Virginia Tech Open Access Subvention Fund; Virginia Tech Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservationen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00857en
dc.identifier.issn1664-042Xen
dc.identifier.other857en
dc.identifier.pmid31333499en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/95047en
dc.identifier.volume10en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherFrontiersen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectearly developmental environmenten
dc.subjectparental effectsen
dc.subjectAix sponsaen
dc.subjectavianen
dc.subjecthippocampusen
dc.subjecthypothalamusen
dc.subjectglucocorticoidsen
dc.subjectbrainen
dc.titleLimited Support for Thyroid Hormone or Corticosterone Related Gene Expression as a Proximate Mechanism of Incubation Temperature-Dependent Phenotypes in Birdsen
dc.title.serialFrontiers in Physiologyen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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