Low Incubation Temperature Induces DNA Hypomethylation in Lizard Brains
(2016) In Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology 325(6). p.390-395- Abstract
Developmental stress can have organizational effects on suites of physiological, morphological, and behavioral characteristics. In lizards, incubation temperature is perhaps the most significant environmental variable affecting embryonic development. Wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) recently introduced by humans from Italy to England experience stressfully cool incubation conditions, which we here show reduce growth and increase the incidence of scale malformations. Using a methylation-sensitive AFLP protocol optimized for vertebrates, we demonstrate that this low incubation temperature also causes hypomethylation of DNA in brain tissue. A consistent pattern across methylation-susceptible AFLP loci suggests that hypomethylation is a... (More)
Developmental stress can have organizational effects on suites of physiological, morphological, and behavioral characteristics. In lizards, incubation temperature is perhaps the most significant environmental variable affecting embryonic development. Wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) recently introduced by humans from Italy to England experience stressfully cool incubation conditions, which we here show reduce growth and increase the incidence of scale malformations. Using a methylation-sensitive AFLP protocol optimized for vertebrates, we demonstrate that this low incubation temperature also causes hypomethylation of DNA in brain tissue. A consistent pattern across methylation-susceptible AFLP loci suggests that hypomethylation is a general response and not limited to certain CpG sites. The functional consequences of hypomethylation are unknown, but it could contribute to genome stability and regulation of gene expression. Further studies of the effects of incubation temperature on DNA methylation in ectotherm vertebrates may reveal mechanisms that explain why the embryonic thermal environment often has physiological and behavioral consequences for offspring.
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- author
- Paredes, Ursula ; Radersma, Reinder LU ; Cannell, Naomi ; While, Geoffrey M. and Uller, Tobias LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2016-07-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology
- volume
- 325
- issue
- 6
- pages
- 6 pages
- publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Inc.
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:27328739
- wos:000379514100004
- scopus:84978371895
- ISSN
- 1932-5223
- DOI
- 10.1002/jez.2024
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- daf0ef50-205d-4305-a906-d74a89d27bdc
- date added to LUP
- 2017-01-18 09:11:55
- date last changed
- 2024-06-28 23:36:19
@article{daf0ef50-205d-4305-a906-d74a89d27bdc,
abstract = {{<p>Developmental stress can have organizational effects on suites of physiological, morphological, and behavioral characteristics. In lizards, incubation temperature is perhaps the most significant environmental variable affecting embryonic development. Wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) recently introduced by humans from Italy to England experience stressfully cool incubation conditions, which we here show reduce growth and increase the incidence of scale malformations. Using a methylation-sensitive AFLP protocol optimized for vertebrates, we demonstrate that this low incubation temperature also causes hypomethylation of DNA in brain tissue. A consistent pattern across methylation-susceptible AFLP loci suggests that hypomethylation is a general response and not limited to certain CpG sites. The functional consequences of hypomethylation are unknown, but it could contribute to genome stability and regulation of gene expression. Further studies of the effects of incubation temperature on DNA methylation in ectotherm vertebrates may reveal mechanisms that explain why the embryonic thermal environment often has physiological and behavioral consequences for offspring.</p>}},
author = {{Paredes, Ursula and Radersma, Reinder and Cannell, Naomi and While, Geoffrey M. and Uller, Tobias}},
issn = {{1932-5223}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{07}},
number = {{6}},
pages = {{390--395}},
publisher = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
series = {{Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology}},
title = {{Low Incubation Temperature Induces DNA Hypomethylation in Lizard Brains}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jez.2024}},
doi = {{10.1002/jez.2024}},
volume = {{325}},
year = {{2016}},
}