Prenatal Stress Reduces Fertility and Fecundity in Female Offspring

Herrenkohl, Lorraine Roth

doi:10.1126/science.573923

Cited by 182 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Finally, prenatal stress affected fertility given that egg fertilization rates of F1PS females were lower than those of F1PC quail. This effect could be of male origin, related to their impaired sexual behaviour, and/or of female origin in relation to potential effects of prenatal stress on the physiology of fertilization, as in mammals [34]. These prenatal stress effects on quail's reproductive functions could be mediated by the hormonal characteristics of their embryonic milieu, as F1PS quail developed in eggs that tended to contain more testosterone [14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trans-generational effects of prenatal stress in quail

et al. 2013

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The prenatal environment is a source of phenotypic variability influencing the animal's characteristics. Prenatal stress affects not only the development of offspring, but also that of the following generation. Such effects have been best documented in mammals but can also be observed in birds, suggesting common processes across phylogenetic orders. We found previously that Japanese quail females stressed during laying produced offspring with higher fearfulness, probably related to modulation of testosterone levels in their eggs. Here, we evaluated long-term effects of prenatal stress by analysing reproductive traits of these F 1 offspring and, then, the development of their subsequent (F 2 ) offspring. The sexual behaviour of F 1 prenatally stressed (F1PS) males was impaired. F1PS females' eggs contained less yolk and more albumen, and higher yolk testosterone and progesterone levels than did F 1 prenatal control females. The fearfulness of F 2 prenatally stressed quail was greater than that of F 2 prenatal control quail. These F 2 behavioural differences paralleled those evidenced by their parents, suggesting trans-generational transmission of prenatal stress effects, probably mediated by egg compositions of F1PS females.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trans-generational effects of prenatal stress in quail

et al. 2013

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“…Stressing animals throughout gestation or in the last third of pregnancy can result in diminished fertility, intrauterine mortality and behavioural changes in the offspring (Christian & Lemunyan, 1958;Keeley, 1962;Herrenkohl, 1979). Few reports are available on the effects of stress or stress hor¬ mones in early pregnancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of restraint stress in early pregnancy in mice

Wiebold¹,

Stanfield²,

Becker³

et al. 1986

Reproduction

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Summary. Mice were exposed to 5 h of restraint stress on Days 1\p=n-\3,4\p=n-\6, or 1\p=n-\6of pregnancy in the morning (08:30\p=n-\13:30h, a.m.) or afternoon (13:30\p=n-\18:30h, p.m.). Stress reduced the pregnancy rate from 90 to 52% (P < 0\m=.\005) and average litter size on Day 18 from 8\m=.\2to 5\m=.\2 young (P < 0\m=.\005). Stress for 6 days was more effective than for 3 days (P < 0\m=.\005) and an a.m. stress was more effective than a p.m. stress (P <0\m=.\05)

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“…While the upregulation of immunocompetence in sons is predicted to result in androgen-mediated changes in social behaviour/dominance, trade-offs with other behavioural or life-history traits are plausible in daughters. Litter and offspring body size, and the timing of birth, are known to be the target of maternal effects in female rodents [68,69], and we might therefore expect maternally induced redirection of resources towards immune defence to come at the expense of reduced fertility and fecundity, or modified reproductive behaviour. Until appropriate experiments are conducted in mice and other species, however, discussion of such differential maternal effects on the sexes in response to the threat of disease remains speculative.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While our results are consistent with the idea of adaptive maternal mediation of a trade-off in male offspring, it is difficult to predict what might occur if our experimental observations were repeated with female offspring. Maternal effects on life-history traits and behaviour in the female offspring of rodents are well documented [68,69], but selection pressures on males and females are often very different, and it is generally expected that if mothers have the ability to adjust investment differentially in sons and daughters, maternal effects will be offspring-sex-specific [4,22]. While the upregulation of immunocompetence in sons is predicted to result in androgen-mediated changes in social behaviour/dominance, trade-offs with other behavioural or life-history traits are plausible in daughters.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infection before pregnancy affects immunity and response to social challenge in the next generation

Curno

Reader

McElligott

et al. 2011

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Natural selection should favour parents that are able to adjust their offspring's life-history strategy and resource allocation in response to changing environmental and social conditions. Pathogens impose particularly strong and variable selective pressure on host life histories, and parental genes will benefit if offspring are appropriately primed to meet the immunological challenges ahead. Here, we investigated transgenerational immune priming by examining reproductive resource allocation by female mice in response to direct infection with Babesia microti prior to pregnancy. Female mice previously infected with B. microti gained more weight over pregnancy, and spent more time nursing their offspring. These offspring generated an accelerated response to B. microti as adults, clearing the infection sooner and losing less weight as a result of infection. They also showed an altered hormonal response to novel social environments, decreasing instead of increasing testosterone production upon social housing. These results suggest that a dominance-resistance trade-off can be mediated by cues from the previous generation. We suggest that strategic maternal investment in response to an infection leads to increased disease resistance in the following generation. Offspring from previously infected mothers downregulate investment in acquisition of social dominance, which in natural systems would reduce access to mating opportunities. In doing so, however, they avoid the reduced disease resistance associated with increased testosterone and dominance. The benefits of accelerated clearance of infection and reduced weight loss during infection may outweigh costs associated with reduced social dominance in an environment where the risk of disease is high.

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Prenatal Stress Reduces Fertility and Fecundity in Female Offspring

Cited by 182 publications

References 19 publications

Trans-generational effects of prenatal stress in quail

Trans-generational effects of prenatal stress in quail

The effect of restraint stress in early pregnancy in mice

Infection before pregnancy affects immunity and response to social challenge in the next generation

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