TY - JOUR
T1 - Ancestry trumps experience
T2 - Transgenerational but not early life stress affects the adult physiological stress response
AU - McCormick, Gail L.
AU - Robbins, Travis R.
AU - Cavigelli, Sonia A.
AU - Langkilde, Tracy
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank S. Graham and C. Thawley for assistance with planning, S. Graham, C. Thawley, and J. Newman for help with lizard collection, C. Thawley, S. McGinley and E. Baron for assistance with adult lizard trials, C. Thawley for assistance with blood collection, C. Thawley, G. Dewitt, D. Fricken, M. Goldy-Brown, A. Hollowell, L. Horne, M. Hook, A. Jacobs, C. Norjen, S. McGinley, and M. O′Brien for lizard care and assistance with early life lizard treatments, the Cavener lab for use of their plate reader, and B. Chitterlings for valuable comments on this manuscript. We thank the Landsdale family for access to their land and lizards and personnel at St. Francis National Forest, Edgar Evins State Park, Standing Stone State Park, Blakeley State Park, Blackwater River State Forest, Geneva State Forest, Conecuh National Forest, and especially the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center for logistical support. Funding was provided in part by the National Science Foundation ( DGE1255832 to GLM and IOS1051367 to TL and SAC).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Exposure to stressors can affect an organism's physiology and behavior as well as that of its descendants (e.g. through maternal effects, epigenetics, and/or selection). We examined the relative influence of early life vs. transgenerational stress exposure on adult stress physiology in a species that has populations with and without ancestral exposure to an invasive predator. We raised offspring of eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) from sites historically invaded (high stress) or uninvaded (low stress) by predatory fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) and determined how this different transgenerational exposure to stress interacted with the effects of early life stress exposure to influence the physiological stress response in adulthood. Offspring from these high- and low-stress populations were exposed weekly to either sub-lethal attack by fire ants (an ecologically relevant stressor), topical treatment with a physiologically-appropriate dose of the stress-relevant hormone, corticosterone (CORT), or a control treatment from 2 to 43 weeks of age. Several months after treatments ended, we quantified plasma CORT concentrations at baseline and following restraint, exposure to fire ants, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) injection. Exposure to fire ants or CORT during early life did not affect lizard stress physiology in adulthood. However, offspring of lizards from populations that had experienced multiple generations of fire ant-invasion exhibited more robust adult CORT responses to restraint and ACTH-injection compared to offspring from uninvaded populations. Together, these results indicate that transgenerational stress history may be at least as important, if not more important, than early life stress in affecting adult physiological stress responses.
AB - Exposure to stressors can affect an organism's physiology and behavior as well as that of its descendants (e.g. through maternal effects, epigenetics, and/or selection). We examined the relative influence of early life vs. transgenerational stress exposure on adult stress physiology in a species that has populations with and without ancestral exposure to an invasive predator. We raised offspring of eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) from sites historically invaded (high stress) or uninvaded (low stress) by predatory fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) and determined how this different transgenerational exposure to stress interacted with the effects of early life stress exposure to influence the physiological stress response in adulthood. Offspring from these high- and low-stress populations were exposed weekly to either sub-lethal attack by fire ants (an ecologically relevant stressor), topical treatment with a physiologically-appropriate dose of the stress-relevant hormone, corticosterone (CORT), or a control treatment from 2 to 43 weeks of age. Several months after treatments ended, we quantified plasma CORT concentrations at baseline and following restraint, exposure to fire ants, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) injection. Exposure to fire ants or CORT during early life did not affect lizard stress physiology in adulthood. However, offspring of lizards from populations that had experienced multiple generations of fire ant-invasion exhibited more robust adult CORT responses to restraint and ACTH-injection compared to offspring from uninvaded populations. Together, these results indicate that transgenerational stress history may be at least as important, if not more important, than early life stress in affecting adult physiological stress responses.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.11.010
DO - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.11.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 27864050
AN - SCOPUS:84997079661
VL - 87
SP - 115
EP - 121
JO - Hormones and Behavior
JF - Hormones and Behavior
SN - 0018-506X
ER -