摘要
BackgroundIn egg-laying animals, mothers can influence the developmental environment and thus the phenotype of their offspring by secreting various substances into the egg yolk. In birds, recent studies have demonstrated that different yolk substances can interactively affect offspring phenotype, but the implications of such effects for offspring fitness and phenotype in natural populations have remained unclear. We measured natural variation in the content of 31 yolk components known to shape offspring phenotypes including steroid hormones, antioxidants and fatty acids in eggs of free-living great tits (Parus major) during two breeding seasons. We tested for relationships between yolk component groupings and offspring fitness and phenotypes.ResultsVariation in hatchling and fledgling numbers was primarily explained by yolk fatty acids (including saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids) - but not by androgen hormones and carotenoids, components previously considered to be major determinants of offspring phenotype. Fatty acids were also better predictors of variation in nestling oxidative status and size than androgens and carotenoids.ConclusionsOur results suggest that fatty acids are important yolk substances that contribute to shaping offspring fitness and phenotype in free-living populations. Since polyunsaturated fatty acids cannot be produced de novo by the mother, but have to be obtained from the diet, these findings highlight potential mechanisms (e.g., weather, habitat quality, foraging ability) through which environmental variation may shape maternal effects and consequences for offspring. Our study represents an important first step towards unraveling interactive effects of multiple yolk substances on offspring fitness and phenotypes in free-living populations. It provides the basis for future experiments that will establish the pathways by which yolk components, singly and/or interactively, mediate maternal effects in natural populations.
摘要译文
背景卵铺设动物，母亲可以影响发育环境，从而通过将各种物质分泌到蛋黄中来影响其后代的表型。在鸟类中，最近的研究表明，不同的蛋黄物质可以相互作地影响后代表型，但是这种作用对自然群体的后代健身和表型的影响仍不清楚。我们测量了已知的31种蛋黄组分的含量的自然变化，以在两个繁殖季节在自由生活巨头（Parus Major）的鸡蛋中存在类固醇激素，抗氧化剂和脂肪酸，包括类固醇激素，抗氧化剂和脂肪酸。我们测试了yolk组分分组和后代健身和表型之间的关系。孵化和刚凝集数量的方法主要由蛋黄脂肪酸（包括饱和的，单 - 和多不饱和脂肪酸）解释 - 但不是通过先前考虑的雄激素激素和类胡萝卜素，组件成为后代表型的主要决定因素。脂肪酸也是嵌入式氧化地位和大小的变化的更好预测因子，而不是比雄激素和类胡萝卜素。结论，结果表明脂肪酸是重要的蛋黄物质，有助于在自由生活中塑造后代健身和表型。由于多不饱和脂肪酸不能被母亲产生De Novo，但必须从饮食中获得，这些发现突出了潜在的机制（例如，天气，栖息地质量，觅食能力），环境变异可能塑造母体效应和后代后果。我们的研究代表了一个重要的第一步，旨在解开多种蛋黄物质对自由生植物中的后代健身和表型的互动影响。它为未来的实验提供了基础，该实验将建立蛋黄组分，单独和/或交互性，在天然群体中培养母体效果的途径。
Mentesana; Lucia[1];Andersson; Martin N.[2];Casagrande; Stefania[1];Goymann; Wolfgang[1];Isaksson; Caroline[2];Hau; Michaela[1]. Natural variation in yolk fatty acids, but not androgens, predicts offspring fitness in a wild bird[J]. Frontiers in Zoology, 2021,18(1): 1-12