Dataset Information

Genetic inheritance and environment determine endocrine plasticity to urban living.

ABSTRACT: As urban areas continue to expand globally, understanding how and why species respond to novel habitats becomes increasingly important. Knowledge of the mechanisms behind observed phenotypic changes in urban animals will enable us to better evaluate the impact of urbanization on current and future generations of wildlife. Physiological changes, such as those involved in the endocrine stress response, may allow individuals to inhabit and thrive in urbanized areas, but it is currently unknown how these changes arise in natural populations. In this study, we performed a four-way cross-foster experiment in free-living house wren chicks, Troglodytes aedon, to disentangle whether differences in baseline corticosterone between urban and rural individuals are a result of genetic and/or plastic mechanisms during development. We found that urban chicks already had higher corticosterone levels than their rural counterparts on the day they hatched, which suggests a possible genetic component to the corticosterone phenotype. However, rural offspring that were moved to an urban environment significantly increased their corticosterone levels, mimicking those of urban offspring. Our findings suggest that, although differences in baseline corticosterone concentrations between urban and rural individuals may have a genetic component, plasticity plays a pivotal role and can modify the corticosterone phenotype in response to the environment experienced in the first two weeks of life.

SUBMITTER: Ouyang JQ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6710584 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Genetic inheritance and environment determine endocrine plasticity to urban living.

Ouyang Jenny Q JQ Baldan Davide D Munguia Crystal C Davies Scott S

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20190731 1908

As urban areas continue to expand globally, understanding how and why species respond to novel habitats becomes increasingly important. Knowledge of the mechanisms behind observed phenotypic changes in urban animals will enable us to better evaluate the impact of urbanization on current and future generations of wildlife. Physiological changes, such as those involved in the endocrine stress response, may allow individuals to inhabit and thrive in urbanized areas, but it is currently unknown how ...[more]

PMID: 31362633

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Project description:ImportanceThe global prevalence of myopia has shown a steady increase over recent decades, with urban areas seemingly experiencing a more significant impact.ObjectiveTo assess the association between urbanization and the prevalence, incidence, progression, and severity of myopia.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study included students in grades 1 to 6 in Tianjin, China, who underwent 3 vision examinations conducted over a 2-year period, from March 1, 2021, to March 31, 2023. Participants from grades 1 to 4 completed the 2-year follow-up.ExposuresUrban living environment.Main outcomes and measuresThe association of urbanization with the incidence, progression, prevalence, and severity of myopia. To quantify urbanization, an urban score was constructed using satellite data and an iterative exploratory factor analysis.ResultsOf 177 894 students (51.7% male; mean [SD] age, 10.27 [1.75] years) included in the study, 137 087 students (52.3% male; mean [SD] age, 8.97 [1.21] years) were followed up for 2 years. A positive association was identified between myopia incidence and urbanization. Specifically, each 1-unit increment in the urban score was associated with an increased risk of myopia over a 1-year period (odds ratio [OR], 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01-1.15; P = .02) and a 2-year period (OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.50-1.57; P < .001). Conversely, each 1-unit increase in the urban score was associated with a significant decrease in myopia progression at 1 year (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.82-0.86; P < .001) and 2 years (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.70-0.75, P < .001). In a cross-sectional data analysis, the urban score was positively associated with myopia prevalence (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.08-2.42; P = .02) and negatively associated with myopia severity, as indicated by spherical equivalent refraction (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.07-1.99; P = .02).Conclusions and relevanceThis study exploring urban living environments and myopia revealed dual associations of urban living with both the incidence and the progression of myopia. The observed patterns emphasize the urgency of promptly implementing myopia control strategies in less urbanized regions, where myopia progression may be accentuated.

Project description:Most multicellular organisms harbor microbial colonizers that provide various benefits to their hosts. Although these microbial communities may be host species- or even genotype-specific, the associated bacterial communities can respond plastically to environmental changes. In this study, we estimated the relative contribution of environment and host genotype to bacterial community composition in Nematostella vectensis, an estuarine cnidarian. We sampled N. vectensis polyps from 5 different populations along a north-south gradient on the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. In addition, we sampled 3 populations at 3 different times of the year. While half of the polyps were immediately analyzed for their bacterial composition by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the remaining polyps were cultured under laboratory conditions for 1 month. Bacterial community comparison analyses revealed that laboratory maintenance reduced bacterial diversity by 4-fold, but maintained a population-specific bacterial colonization. Interestingly, the differences between bacterial communities correlated strongly with seasonal variations, especially with ambient water temperature. To decipher the contribution of both ambient temperature and host genotype to bacterial colonization, we generated 12 clonal lines from 6 different populations in order to maintain each genotype at 3 different temperatures for 3 months. The bacterial community composition of the same N. vectensis clone differed greatly between the 3 different temperatures, highlighting the contribution of ambient temperature to bacterial community composition. To a lesser extent, bacterial community composition varied between different genotypes under identical conditions, indicating the influence of host genotype. In addition, we identified a significant genotype x environment interaction determining microbiota plasticity in N. vectensis. From our results we can conclude that N. vectensis-associated bacterial communities respond plastically to changes in ambient temperature, with the association of different bacterial taxa depending in part on the host genotype. Future research will reveal how this genotype-specific microbiota plasticity affects the ability to cope with changing environmental conditions.

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Genetic inheritance and environment determine endocrine plasticity to urban living.

Publications

Genetic inheritance and environment determine endocrine plasticity to urban living.

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