Sex allocation plasticity on a transcriptome scale: socially-sensitive gene expression in a simultaneous hermaphrodite
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Macrostomum lignano
PROVIDER: GSE123594 | GEO | 2019/03/01
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Sex allocation plasticity on a transcriptome scale: socially-sensitive gene expression in a simultaneous hermaphrodite
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Project description:Memory allocation refers to the process by which neurons are recruited into the encoding ensemble to store learned information. This recruitment is regulated by neuronal selection based on differences in intrinsic excitability (IE) and the expression of the transcription factor CREB. However, whether other forms of plasticity influence memory allocation remains unknown. Here, we found that chromatin compaction and histone acetylation in the mouse lateral amygdala display a high degree of heterogeneity, a prerequisite for neuronal selection. Consequently, when we increased histone acetylation by overexpressing histone acetyl transferases (HATs), neurons with elevated histone acetylation were preferentially recruited into the encoding ensemble and memory retention was enhanced, while optogenetic silencing of the epigenetically altered neurons prevented memory expression. Mechanistically, using patch-clamp recordings and single-nucleus multi-ome sequencing, we observed that HAT overexpression increased IE and epitranscriptomic changes favoring synaptic plasticity. Lastly, by merging FRET-based epigenetic beacons with calcium indicators to simultaneously record histone acetylation and neuronal dynamics in real time, we found that epigenetic heterogeneity underlies IE in cell-autonomous manner. These results identify chromatin plasticity as a key factor catalyzing memory allocation.
2024-07-26 | GSE220696 | GEO
Project description:Linking the evolution of the phenotype to the underlying genotype is a key aim of evolutionary genetics and is crucial to our understanding of how natural selection shapes a trait. Here we consider the genetic basis of sex allocation behaviour in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis using a transcriptomics approach. Females allocate offspring sex in line with Local Mate Competition (LMC) theory. Female-biased sex ratios are produced when one or few females lay eggs on a patch. As the number of females contributing offspring to a patch increases, less female-biased sex ratios are favoured. We contrasted the transcriptomic responses of females as they oviposit under conditions known to influence sex allocation: foundress number (a social cue) and the state of the host (parasitised or not). We found, that when females encounter other females on a patch, or assess host quality with their ovipositors, the resulting changes in sex allocation is not associated with significant changes in whole-body gene expression. We also found that the gene expression changes produced by females, as they facultatively allocate sex in response to a host cue and a social cue, are very closely correlated. We expanded the list of candidate genes associated with oviposition behaviour in Nasonia, some of which may be involved in fundamental processes underlying the ability to facultatively allocate sex, including sperm storage and utilisation. 2 x 3 factorial design. Females were placed into 1 of 2 "foundress number" groups: 1) alone or 2) in the presence of 9 other females (co-foundresses). Females were further subdivided into host treatment groups: i) given no host, ii) given a fresh host and iii) given a pre-parasitised host. This gives a total of 6 possible treatment combinations. For each of these 6 groups, 7 pools of 10 females were sequenced giving 42 libraries altogether.
2015-11-11 | E-GEOD-74241 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Linking the evolution of the phenotype to the underlying genotype is a key aim of evolutionary genetics and is crucial to our understanding of how natural selection shapes a trait. Here we consider the genetic basis of sex allocation behaviour in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis using a transcriptomics approach. Females allocate offspring sex in line with Local Mate Competition (LMC) theory. Female-biased sex ratios are produced when one or few females lay eggs on a patch. As the number of females contributing offspring to a patch increases, less female-biased sex ratios are favoured. We contrasted the transcriptomic responses of females as they oviposit under conditions known to influence sex allocation: foundress number (a social cue) and the state of the host (parasitised or not). We found, that when females encounter other females on a patch, or assess host quality with their ovipositors, the resulting changes in sex allocation is not associated with significant changes in whole-body gene expression. We also found that the gene expression changes produced by females, as they facultatively allocate sex in response to a host cue and a social cue, are very closely correlated. We expanded the list of candidate genes associated with oviposition behaviour in Nasonia, some of which may be involved in fundamental processes underlying the ability to facultatively allocate sex, including sperm storage and utilisation.
2015-11-11 | GSE74241 | GEO
Project description:Chromatin plasticity contributes to neuronal selection during memory allocation
| PRJNA911184 | ENA
Project description:Sex allocation theory predicts that the optimal sexual resource allocation of simultaneous hermaphrodites is affected by mating group size (MGS). Although the original concept assumes that the MGS does not differ between male and female functions, the MGS in the male function (MGSm; i.e., the number of sperm recipients the focal individual can deliver its sperm to plus one) and that in the female function (MGSf; the number of sperm donors plus one) do not always coincide and may differently affect the optimal sex allocation. Moreover, reproductive costs can be split into "variable" (e.g., sperm and eggs) and "fixed" (e.g., genitalia) costs, but these have been seldom distinguished in empirical studies. We examined the effects of MGSm and MGSf on the fixed and variable reproductive investments in the sessilian barnacle Balanus rostratus. The results showed that MGSm had a positive effect on sex allocation, whereas MGSf had a nearly significant negative effect. Moreover, the "fixed" cost varied with body size and both aspects of MGS. We argue that the two aspects of MGS should be distinguished for organisms with unilateral mating.
| S-EPMC7069306 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A female's behavioral and physiological response to her environment can have lasting effects on the development of her offspring. This type of non-genetic inheritance (or maternal effect) occurs across taxa but is particularly well-studied in birds due to the relative ease of measuring maternal hormones in externally developing eggs. For example, females breeding in areas of high social competition allocate more of the hormone testosterone (T) to their egg yolks. These high-T offspring exhibit numerous phenotypic changes, including faster juvenile growth and enhanced aggression well into adulthood, which are potentially beneficial traits in high-competition areas. Thus, females may be able to communicate the current social environment to their offspring and prepare them for adverse conditions. Yet, the proximate mechanisms underlying how maternal hormones affect offspring are largely ignored, impairing our understanding of an ecologically important source of phenotypic plasticity. Here, we explored the effects of the maternal social environment on yolk T allocation and genome-wide patterns of neural gene expression in male and female tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) embryos. We observed a population of free-living tree swallows breeding at sites with variable breeding densities. We performed behavioral observations to record the rate of physical aggression at these sites, which was significantly higher at high density sites. We collected eggs at two developmental timepoints: the day laid to measure maternally derived T concentrations and embryonic day 11 (ED11) to measure gene expression patterns in whole brains using RNA-seq. We took a genome-wide approach to help clarify the potentially diverse mechanisms regulated by early T exposure across variable social environments. We additionally molecularly sexed the embryos to explore sex-specific effects.
2024-10-27 | GSE246544 | GEO
Project description:To explore the molecular mechanism underlying social isolation and resocialization, we performed RNA-seq on mPFC samples from the ~7-week-old control and social isolation mice. We identified 1265 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that were enriched in 4 pathways: cognitive behavior, myelin development, synaptic development, and ion channels.
2022-09-22 | GSE162343 | GEO
Project description:Maternal social environment shapes yolk testosterone allocation and embryonic neural gene expression in tree swallows
| PRJNA1033604 | ENA
Project description:Sexual selection is generally predicted to act more strongly on males than on females. The Darwin-Bateman paradigm predicts that this should also hold for hermaphrodites. However, measuring this strength of selection is less straightforward when both sexual functions are performed throughout the organism's lifetime. Besides, quantifications of sexual selection are usually done during a short time window, while many animals store sperm and are long-lived. To explore whether the chosen time frame affects estimated measures of sexual selection, we recorded mating success and reproductive success over time, using a simultaneous hermaphrodite. Our results show that male sexual selection gradients are consistently positive. However, an individual's female mating success seems to negatively affect its own male reproductive success, an effect that only becomes visible several weeks into the experiment, highlighting that the time frame is crucial for the quantification and interpretation of sexual selection measures, an insight that applies to any iteroparous mating system.
| S-EPMC5511009 | biostudies-literature