Yolk testosterone and corticosterone in hierarchical follicles and laid eggs of Japanese quail exposed to long-term restraint stress

Okuliarova, Monika; Šárniková, B.; Rettenbacher, Sophie; Škrobánek, P.; Zeman, Michal

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2009.06.007

Cited by 58 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Like other steroids, corticosterone is lipophilic and, in the amniotic egg, accumulates in lipid-rich yolks during egg formation (McCormick 1998; Hayward and Wingfield 2004; Okuliarová et al 2010; Almasi et al 2012; Pitk et al 2012). Thus, egg-yolk corticosterone can serve as an integrated, non-invasive proxy of maternal physiology and may affect offspring development (Bowers et al 2015b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated corticosterone during egg production elicits increased maternal investment and promotes nestling growth in a wild songbird

Bowers

Bowden

Thompson

et al. 2016

Hormones and Behavior

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Glucocorticoids circulating in breeding birds during egg production accumulate within eggs, and may provide a potent form of maternal effect on offspring phenotype. However, whether these steroids affect offspring development remains unclear. Here, we employed a non-invasive technique that experimentally elevated the maternal transfer of corticosterone to eggs in a wild population of house wrens. Feeding corticosterone-injected mealworms to free-living females prior to and during egg production increased the number of eggs that females produced and increased corticosterone concentrations in egg yolks. This treatment also resulted in an increase in the amount of yolk allocated to eggs. Offspring hatching from these eggs begged for food at a higher rate than control offspring and eventually attained increased prefledging body condition, a trait predictive of their probability of recruitment as breeding adults in the study population. Our results indicate that an increase in maternal glucocorticoids within the physiological range can enhance maternal investment and offspring development.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated corticosterone during egg production elicits increased maternal investment and promotes nestling growth in a wild songbird

Bowers

Bowden

Thompson

et al. 2016

Hormones and Behavior

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“…Stress in animals has been measured as catecholamine or corticosteroid hormone concentration in matrices such a blood, feces, urine, feathers, eggs and saliva (Larter & Nagy 2001; Van der Staay et al 2007; Bortolotti et al 2008; Downing & Bryden 2008; Saco et al 2008; Lupica & Turner 2009; Okuliarová et al 2010; Saeb et al 2010). More recently, analyses of hair (Koren et al 2002; Davenport et al 2006; Dettmer et al 2009; Gow et al 2010), and liver and gonad tissue (Flores-Valverde & Hill 2008) have also been included.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cortisol levels in hair of East Greenland polar bears

Bechshøft

Sonne

Dietz

et al. 2011

Science of The Total Environment

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To demonstrate the ability to assess long-term hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis activity in polar bears (Ursus maritimus), a pilot study was conducted in which cortisol concentrations was analyzed in hair from 7 female (3-19 years) and 10 male (6-19 years) East Greenland polar bears sampled 1994-2006. Hair was chosen as matrix as it is non-invasive, seasonally harmonized, and has been validated as an index of long-term changes in cortisol levels. Samples were categorized according to contamination: Eight were clean (2 females, 6 males), 5 had been contaminated with bear blood (2 F, 3 M), and 4 with bear fat (3 F, 1 M). There was no significant difference in cortisol concentration between the three categories after external contamination was removed. However, contaminated hair samples should be cleaned before cortisol determination. Average hair cortisol concentration was 8.90 pg/mg (range: 5.5 to 16.4 pg/ mg). There was no significant correlation between cortisol concentration and age (p = 0.81) or sampling year (p = 0.11). However, females had higher mean cortisol concentration than males (females mean: 11.0 pg/mg, males: 7.3 pg/mg; p = 0.01). The study showed that polar bear hair contains measurable amounts of cortisol and that cortisol in hair may be used in studies of longterm stress in polar bears.

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“…Circulating corticosteroids accumulate in the yolk during egg formation (Sinervo and DeNardo 1996; McCormick 1998; Hayward et al 2005; Love et al 2005, 2008; Okuliarová et al 2010; Almasi et al 2012); thus, egg-yolk corticosterone may serve as a non-invasive, integrated measure of maternal physiology reflecting what an individual produces over time and which is not subject to researcher- or restraint-induced stress. We hypothesize that increased corticosterone following immunostimulation is passed from mother to offspring during egg formation, and that the increase in corticosterone (i) reflects maternal physiology, with variation in corticosterone positively affecting maternal care (e.g., Sapolsky et al 2000; Crossin et al 2012; Love et al 2014), and (ii) enhances offspring development via the egg by promoting begging and growth after hatching (Quillfeldt et al 2006; Loiseau et al 2008; Love and Williams 2008; Chin et al 2009; Smiseth et al 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

Immune Activation Generates Corticosterone-Mediated Terminal Reproductive Investment in a Wild Bird

Bowers¹,

Bowden²,

Sakaluk³

et al. 2015

The American Naturalist

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Despite classical expectations of a trade-off between immune activity and reproduction, an emergent view suggests that individuals experiencing activation of their immune system actually increase reproductive effort and allocation to offspring as a form of terminal investment in response to reduced survival probability. However, the components and mechanisms of increased parental investment following immunostimulation are currently unknown. We hypothesize that increased glucocorticoid production following immunostimulation modulates the increase in reproductive effort that constitutes terminal investment. We activated the immune system of breeding female house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) with an immunogen and cross-fostered the eggs they subsequently produced to separate pre- and post-natal components of maternal investment. Cross-fostering revealed an increase in both pre- and post-natal allocation from immunostimulated females, which was confirmed by quantification of egg constituents and maternal provisioning behavior. The increase in maternal provisioning was mediated, at least in part, by increased corticosterone in these females. Offspring immune responsiveness was also enhanced through transgenerational immune priming via the egg. Thus, our results indicate that maternal immunostimulation induces transgenerational effects on offspring through both pre- and post-natal parental effects, and support an important role for corticosterone in mediating parental investment.

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Yolk testosterone and corticosterone in hierarchical follicles and laid eggs of Japanese quail exposed to long-term restraint stress

Cited by 58 publications

References 43 publications

Elevated corticosterone during egg production elicits increased maternal investment and promotes nestling growth in a wild songbird

Elevated corticosterone during egg production elicits increased maternal investment and promotes nestling growth in a wild songbird

Cortisol levels in hair of East Greenland polar bears

Immune Activation Generates Corticosterone-Mediated Terminal Reproductive Investment in a Wild Bird

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