Effects of maternal nuclear genome on the timing of puberty in mice offspring

Abstract

The timing of puberty is a complex trait which is regulated by environmental and genetic factors, but the detailed regulatory mechanism remains elusive. Maternal nutrition administration during late gestation in rats revealed that the time of onset of puberty in daughter rats was influenced by the mother's nutritional and physiological status during the embryonic development period. In this study, the potential effects of the maternal nuclear genome on the timing of puberty of offspring were investigated. Two inbred strains of mice (C3H/HeJ (C3H) and C57BL/6J (B6)) were used to set up two pedigrees (direct and reciprocal crosses), and the timing of puberty in all these mice (parent, F1 and F2) was recorded (the females were assessed by vaginal opening (VO) and the males by balano preputial separation (BPS)). The results from data of 822 mice showed that: 1) in female mice, the heritability of the timing of puberty in direct and reciprocal crosses is 68 . 51% and 63 . 97% respectively; 2) in female mice, a significant difference in the timing of puberty is observed between B6 and C3H (PZ3 . 7!10 ), while such differences vanish in their male progenitor and progeny. The significant discrepancy between direct and reciprocal crosses in F1 but not in either cross of F2 hybrids reveals that the maternal nuclear genome has effects on the timing of puberty in mice progeny, probably through imprinting genes or the genes associated with intra-uterine physiological status.

A Dominant X-Linked QTL Regulating Pubertal Timing in Mice Found by Whole Genome Scanning and Modified Interval-Specific Congenic Strain Analysis

“…Our previous data showed that the heritability of the timing of puberty in direct and reciprocal crosses between B6 and C3H inbred mice was 68.51% and 63.97%, respectively [16]. In this study, a QTL on chromosome X, which explained 0.5% of variation to this trait,was identified by whole genome scanning in two reciprocal pedigrees and was further confirmed and refined in mCSS and mISCS populations.…”

“…The distributions of age at vaginal opening in three pedigrees including parental strains, F1 hybrids and F2 hybrids were reported to be normal in our previous study [16]. The data showed that the heritability of the age at vaginal opening in direct and reciprocal crosses between B6 and C3H inbred mice is 68.51% and 63.97% respectively.…”

“…The two inbred strains were investigated in our study because the timing of VO differed significantly from each other ( P <0.05) and the discrepancy was ascribed to genetic factors [6]. Our previous study showed that the heritability of the timing of VO in direct and reciprocal crosses between B6 and C3H inbred female mice is 68.51% and 63.97% respectively [16]. In this study, the population generated from B6 female and C3H male were defined as the direct cross and the opposite as the reciprocal cross.…”

Gender-dependent resiliency to stressful and metabolic challenges following prenatal exposure to high-fat diet in the p66Shc−/− mouse

“…Beginning on the day of weaning, the dates of VO for females and BPS for males were recorded. In female mice, VO was determined by daily inspection and recorded as the day on which the vaginal orifice transitioned from tightly closed to patent (Nelson et al, 1990; Azooz et al, 2001; Zhou et al, 2007; Brill and Moenter, 2009). The opening of the vaginal cavity to the skin is an event occurring around the fifth week of life that can be induced in sexually immature mice by beta-estradiol injections (Rodriguez et al, 1997).…”

Parent‐of‐origin and trans‐generational germline influences on behavioral development: The interacting roles of mothers, fathers, and grandparents

“…Behavioral changes have also been observed in hybrids, such as the temperament differences commonly reported between hinnies (donkey mother and horse father) and mules (horse mother and donkey father) (Gray, 1972). In the laboratory, the reciprocal breeding of various inbred and outbred rodent strains and species has been extremely useful in screening for parent-of-origin effects on behavioral and physiological phenotypes such as emotional reactivity (Calatayud & Belzung, 2001;Carola, Frazzetto, & Gross, 2006;Roy, Merali, Poulter, & Anisman, 2007), maternal care (Calatayud, Coubard, & Belzung, 2004;Carola et al, 2008;Shoji & Kato, 2009), infanticide (Perrigo et al, 1993), aggression (Carlier, Roubertoux, & Pastoret, 1991;Platt & Maxson, 1989), sex (McGill & Manning, 1976), forced ethanol intake (Gabriel & Cunningham, 2008), calcium taste preference (Tordoff, Reed, & Shao, 2008), activity (Dohm, Richardson, & Garland, 1994;Massett & Berk, 2005;Price & Loomis, 1973), cerebellar development (Cooper, Benno, Hahn, & Hewitt, 1991), peripheral nerve conductivity (Hegmann & White, 1973), central estrogen receptor a distribution (Kramer, Carr, Schmidt, & Cushing, 2006), and puberty onset (Zhou et al, 2007).…”