Direct Evidence for Mother-to-Embryo Transfer of Nutrients in the Livebearing Fish<i>Gambusia geiseri</i>

Marsh‐Matthews, Edie; Skierkowski, Paul; DeMarais, Alyce

doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2001)001[0001:defmte]2.0.co;2

Cited by 36 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Occurrence of matrotrophy in Gambusia has been suggested in the literature (Scrimshaw 1945;Hubbs 1971;Wourms 1981;Meffe and Snelson 1993), however, and a recent study using injection of radioactive leucine into pregnant females demonstrated mother-to-embryo transfer of nutrients in largespring gambusia, Gambusia geiseri (Marsh-Matthews et al 2001). Here, we also provide direct evidence for matrotrophy in western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis and we have unpublished data that confirm matrotrophic transfer in three other species in this genus (all that have been surveyed to date).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…On the day of matrotrophy assay, we injected females with 5 ll 3 Hleucine in the caudal peduncle, euthanized them 2 h post-injection, and dissected them to obtain a liver sample and to remove individual embryos from the ovary (Marsh-Matthews et al 2001). Each embryo was carefully dissected under a microscope and rinsed twice in distilled water.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Radioactivity in embryos (disintegrations/min, dpm) was used to quantify nutrient transfer. For each female, radioactivity in the liver was assayed to confirm uptake of injected 3 H-leucine (Swain and Jones 1997;Marsh-Matthews et al 2001). Radioactivity levels were considered to be significantly greater than background activity when the count rate of the sample minus its two sigma deviation (95% confidence level) was greater than the count rate of the background plus its two sigma deviation (Marsh-Matthews et al 2001).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of maternal and embryo characteristics on post-fertilization provisioning in fishes of the genus Gambusia

et al. 2005

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Maternal provisioning of embryos in Gambusia (Poeciliidae) entails both production of large, yolky eggs and mother-to-embryo transfer of nutrients, the latter of which is readily quantified using injection of radiolabeled nutrients. We assayed patterns of nutrient transfer in broods of 26 Gambusia geiseri and 23 Gambusia affinis females, using injection of tritiated leucine. We examined maternal and embryo characteristics affecting the instantaneous rate of transfer and characterized the pattern of transfer to individual embryos within broods. Maternal (female size and condition) and brood characteristics (mean embryo size, developmental stage, brood size) did not predict the mean level of nutrient transfer to embryos in a brood for either species. Within broods, individual provisioning of embryos was not related to developmental stage, but was related to embryo mass in G. affinis with nutrient transfer higher to larger embryos. In addition, overall within-brood variation in nutrient transfer, measured as coefficient of variation in embryo radioactivity, was higher in G. affinis than in G. geiseri.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of maternal and embryo characteristics on post-fertilization provisioning in fishes of the genus Gambusia

et al. 2005

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“…While less information is available for live-bearing fish, there is evidence of maternal transfer occurring for amino acids (Marsh-Matthews et al 2001), but also organochlorines (Oka et al 2006) and mercury (Le Bourg et al 2014). Metal transfer is likely to differ from the situation in mammals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of maternal copper and cadmium transfer in two live-bearing fish species

Cazan

Klerks

2014

Ecotoxicology

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We studied maternal transfer of an essential metal (copper) and a non-essential one (cadmium) in the live-bearing fishes Heterandria formosa and Gambusia affinis. The goals of this study were: (1) to determine whether metals are transferred from exposed females to their developing offspring; (2) to determine if this transfer differs between two fish species that differ in their degree of maternal provisioning during development; (3) to determine the duration of maternal metal transfer once females are no longer exposed; and (4) to determine whether copper and cadmium are transferred equivalently. We exposed gravid females to background levels (control) or 0.15 µM of metal for 10 days, and then transferred them to clean water. We allowed females to give birth to up to three broods, and then quantified metal levels in offspring born at least 3 days after the transfer. We detected maternal metal transfer for both metals and in both species. Offspring metal levels decreased as females spent more time in clean water. Similarly, metal levels were lower in later broods than in earlier ones. Maternal metal transfer was higher in H. formosa than in G. affinis. Our results constitute the first report of maternal metal transfer in live-bearing fishes, and show that developing embryos acquire both essential and non-essential metals from their mothers in both species. This shows that metal toxicity may be an issue for live-bearing fish in clean environments when the previous generation has encountered metal pollution.

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“…Despite the strong potential for maternal nutrient transfer in egg brooding frogs, there have been few direct tests of matrotrophy beyond two early studies of an oviduct and a pouch brooding frog [2,4,8]. Direct evidence of matrotrophy includes shifts among eggs, embryos and hatchlings in chemical composition, increasing embryonic dry mass, or transfer of isotopically labelled molecules or nutrients [7,[9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pouch brooding marsupial frogs transfer nutrients to developing embryos

Warne

Catenazzi

2016

Biol. Lett.

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Marsupial frogs have a unique reproductive mode in which females carry eggs enclosed in a sealed dorsal brood pouch. While most anurans are considered to be oviparous with lecithotrophic eggs, the extensively vascularized membrane of the brood pouch in marsupial frogs suggests potential opportunities for nutrient transfer. We tested for matrotrophy in the live-bearing Gastrotheca excubitor (Hemiphractidae), through feeding insects labelled with a 13 C-fatty acid and a 15 N-amino acid to brooding marsupial frogs. We observed significant increases of d C and d 15N in both maternal pouch tissues and embryos, suggesting nutrient transfer. Embryo dry mass also increased with developmental stage, providing further direct evidence for matrotrophy. These results suggest that in addition to gas exchange, the vascularized brood pouch membrane of G. excubitor also enables maternal nutrient transfer. This finding revealed a suspected but untested trait in the evolution of parental care in marsupial frogs, in contrast to previous work on Gastrotheca species that release tadpoles, and suggests greater complexity in reproductive and provisioning modes than previously thought.

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Direct Evidence for Mother-to-Embryo Transfer of Nutrients in the Livebearing FishGambusia geiseri

Cited by 36 publications

References 16 publications

Effects of maternal and embryo characteristics on post-fertilization provisioning in fishes of the genus Gambusia

Effects of maternal and embryo characteristics on post-fertilization provisioning in fishes of the genus Gambusia

Evidence of maternal copper and cadmium transfer in two live-bearing fish species

Pouch brooding marsupial frogs transfer nutrients to developing embryos

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