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Climate and sex ratio variation in a viviparous lizard.

ABSTRACT: The extent to which key biological processes, such as sex determination, respond to environmental fluctuations is fundamental for assessing species' susceptibility to ongoing climate change. Few studies, however, address how climate affects offspring sex in the wild. We monitored two climatically distinct populations of the viviparous skink Niveoscincus ocellatus for 16 years, recording environmental temperatures, offspring sex and date of birth. We found strong population-specific effects of temperature on offspring sex, with female offspring more common in warm years at the lowland site but no effect at the highland site. In contrast, date of birth advanced similarly in response to temperature at both sites. These results suggest strong population-specific effects of temperature on offspring sex that are independent of climatic effects on other physiological processes. These results have significant implications for our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary consequences of variation in sex ratios under climate change.

SUBMITTER: Cunningham GD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5454248 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Climate and sex ratio variation in a viviparous lizard.

Cunningham George D GD While Geoffrey M GM Wapstra Erik E

Biology letters 20170501 5

The extent to which key biological processes, such as sex determination, respond to environmental fluctuations is fundamental for assessing species' susceptibility to ongoing climate change. Few studies, however, address how climate affects offspring sex in the wild. We monitored two climatically distinct populations of the viviparous skink <i>Niveoscincus ocellatus</i> for 16 years, recording environmental temperatures, offspring sex and date of birth. We found strong population-specific effect ...[more]

PMID: 28566543

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Project description:The maternal transmission of microbiota during embryonic development of vertebrates is still poorly understood. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA bacterial genes to determine the bacterial communities in the gastrointestinal tract and amniotic environment, i.e., the amniotic fluid, amniotic membrane and extraembryonic yolk, of embryos at the last stage of development of the viviparous lizard Sceloporus grammicus Wiegmann, 1828. We compared these communities to those found in the maternal intestine, mouth, cloaca, and the aseptic ventral skin as a control of the aseptic technique. Our results showed that bacterial 16S rRNA genes were present in the embryos of S. grammicus. Their diversity was lower and more similar in composition between individuals than those found in the maternal tissues. This suggests that a strong control exists on the transmission of bacteria from the mother to the embryos. We found 78% of the embryonic amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) in the maternal bacterial microbiota, suggesting that the transmission of bacteria from the mother to the embryos is a continuous process and some bacteria may have been transferred during early embryonic stages. The embryonic bacteria were found to overlap mostly with those found in the mouth and aseptic ventral skin of the mother, although it is difficult to conclude that the shared ASVs originated from these maternal tissues. Our study provides evidence of microbiota vertical transfer during embryonic development in the animal kingdom. It also highlights that this maternal transmission could be included in the maternal effects that impact the offspring.IMPORTANCEWe investigated the presence and diversity of bacteria in the embryos of the viviparous lizard Sceloporus grammicus and their amniotic environment. We compared this diversity to that found in the maternal intestine, mouth, and cloaca. We detected bacterial DNA in the embryos, albeit with a lower bacterial species diversity than found in maternal tissues. Most of the bacterial species detected in the embryos were also found in the mother, although not all of them. Interestingly, we detected a high similarity in the composition of bacterial species among embryos from different mothers. These findings suggest that there may be a mechanism controlling the transmission of bacteria from the mother to the embryo. Our results highlight the possibility that the interaction between maternal bacteria and the embryo may affect the development of the lizards.

Dataset Information

Climate and sex ratio variation in a viviparous lizard.

Publications

Climate and sex ratio variation in a viviparous lizard.

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