Cross‐amplification of polymorphic microsatellites reveals extra‐pair paternity and brood parasitism in <i>Sturnus vulgaris</i>

Loyau, Adeline; Moureau, Benoît; Richard, Melanie L.; Christe, Philippe; Heeb, Philipp; Sorci, Gabriele

doi:10.1111/j.1471-8286.2005.00868.x

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The results of parentage analyses show no evidence for extra‐pair paternity (EPP) or intra‐specific brood parasitism (IBP). While rates of IBP and EPP in natural populations reported in the literature vary, these are generally relatively low (EPP: 9–17% of offspring and 29–45% of nests; IBP: 0–27% of chicks and 0–45% of nests) and it has been suggested that these may reflect local ecological conditions (Loyau et al 2005). Thus, it is possible that the reduced space and increased food availability lowered the energetic costs of nest and mate guarding leading to the absence of EPP and IBP, at least in the nests that were examined.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and breeding status are associated with the expression of GnIH

Calisi

Díaz‐Muñoz

Wingfield

et al. 2011

Genes, Brain and Behavior

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Discoveries of how social behavior can influence the plasticity of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) have revolutionized the field of behavioral neuroendocrinology by providing new insights into the neural mechanisms controlling behavior. In 2000, the neuropeptide gonadotropin inhibitory hormone (GnIH) was discovered and is changing the way we view how the brain mediates reproduction and associated behaviors. GnIH acts as a reproductive 'pause button', momentarily inhibiting the activity of the reproductive system. However, how GnIH fluctuates naturally in response to social environment is unknown. We examine how the outcome of competition for limited resources needed for reproduction is associated with GnIH. We experimentally manipulated nesting opportunities for pairs of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and examined brain GnIH mRNA and peptide content, as well as GnRH content and plasma testosterone and corticosterone. By limiting the number of nest boxes per enclosure and thus the number of social pairing and nesting opportunities, we observed that birds which outcompeted others for nest boxes ('winners') had significantly fewer numbers of GnIH peptide-producing cells than those without nest boxes ('losers') and this relationship changed with breeding stage. GnRH content, testosterone and corticosterone did not vary with nest box ownership. Thus, while birds appeared reproductively capable across treatments, our data indicate that GnIH may serve as a modulator of reproductive behaviors in response to social environment. Additionally, we provide some evidence of the adaptive value of this mechanism. . For all vertebrates studied, the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) family of peptides is a key regulator of the reproductive, or hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG), axis. Gonadotropinreleasing hormone released from the hypothalamus signals the anterior pituitary gland to release the gonadotropic hormones luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) into the bloodstream. Luteinizing hormone and FSH then promote testicular spermatogenesis, follicular growth and estradiol and testosterone release which feedback to and modulate all levels of the HPG axis. Several studies on how social behavior can influence the plasticity of the GnRH system have revolutionized the field of behavioral and reproductive neuroendocrinology by expanding our understanding of how social interactions can influence neural mechanisms associated with reproduction (Burmeister 2005;Fox et al. 1997;Francis et al. 1993). The discovery of the novel neurohormone gonadotropin inhibitory hormone (GnIH; Tsutsui et al.) in 2000 is changing the way we view how reproduction and sexual behavior are regulated by the brain.Found in the area of the brain responsible for reproduction, the hypothalamus, GnIH inhibits reproduction and sexual behavior. Gonadotropin inhibitory hormone decreases the activity of GnRH neurons in addition to reducing synthesis and release of the gonadotropins LH and, in some cases, FSH from the pituita...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and breeding status are associated with the expression of GnIH

Calisi

Díaz‐Muñoz

Wingfield

et al. 2011

Genes, Brain and Behavior

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“…Although high levels of both intraspecific nest parasitism and extra‐pair paternity occur in both species (Cordero et al . 2003; Loyau et al . 2005), no microsatellite markers have been developed specifically for them.…”

Section: Characteristics Of Sturnus Unicolor Microsatellite Loci Tamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2003). Recently, Loyau et al . (2005) used five microsatellites developed for other species to evaluate extra‐pair paternity and intraspecific nest parasitism in European starlings.…”

Section: Characteristics Of Sturnus Unicolor Microsatellite Loci Tamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor) and European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are hole-nesting, facultatively polygynous species Cordero et al 2001;Loyau et al 2005). Although high levels of both intraspecific nest parasitism and extra-pair paternity occur in both species (Cordero et al 2003;Loyau et al 2005), no microsatellite markers have been developed specifically for them. Therefore, indirect criteria such as overall appearance of eggs, overlapping of two eggs' laying dates or laying of an egg out of the laying period have been used to detect nest parasitism (Calvo et al 2000).…”

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Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellites isolated from the spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor) and cross‐species amplification in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Celis

Gil

Graves

2006

Molecular Ecology Notes

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Spotless and European starlings (Sturnus unicolor and Sturnus vulgaris) have attracted attention from researchers interested in sexual selection, evolution of parental care and reproductive strategies. Both species show high levels of intraspecific nest parasitism and extra‐pair paternity, but research in this area is hampered by a lack of molecular markers specific for these species. Here, we describe a set of primers for nine microsatellite loci in spotless starlings, eight of which are highly polymorphic (7.37 alleles in average). These microsatellites are also polymorphic in European starlings (6.75 alleles in average).

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“…Each 10 µL PCR contained: 0.5–1 U JumpStart™ Taq DNA polymerase (Sigma), 0.2 m m dNTPs (Invitrogen), 10 m m Tris‐HCL (pH 8.3), 50 m m KCl, 1–3 m m MgCl 2 , 0.15 µ m of forward and reverse primers and 1–50 ng of genomic DNA. PCRs consisted of 35 cycles at 94 °C for 50 s, T a for 1 min, 72 °C for 1 min and a final extension at 72 °C for 4 min 30 s. I also tested six markers — four of which were polymorphic in the European starling (Loyau et al . 2005) — developed for other passerine species using the same methods ().…”

Section: Characterization Of 31 Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci From mentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the plural cooperatively breeding superb starling, Lamprotornis superbus

Rubenstein

2005

Molecular Ecology Notes

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Superb starlings (Lamprotornis superbus) are separate nesting plural cooperative breeders endemic to East Africa that show high levels of reproductive conflict and low reproductive skew. I isolated 31 polymorphic microsatellite loci from the superb starling genome and characterized them in approximately 31 individuals. The numbers of alleles per locus ranged from two to 16 and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.03 to 0.88. Many of these loci amplified in other passerine species including the European starling, Sturnus vulgaris, and a variety of other starlings and mockingbirds.

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Cross‐amplification of polymorphic microsatellites reveals extra‐pair paternity and brood parasitism in Sturnus vulgaris

Cited by 7 publications

References 9 publications

Social and breeding status are associated with the expression of GnIH

Social and breeding status are associated with the expression of GnIH

Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellites isolated from the spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor) and cross‐species amplification in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the plural cooperatively breeding superb starling, Lamprotornis superbus

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