Project description:Background: Modifications to early development can lead to evolutionary diversification. The early stages of development are under maternal control, as mothers produce eggs loaded with nutrients, proteins and mRNAs that direct early embryogenesis. Maternally provided mRNAs are the only expressed genes in initial stages of development and are tightly regulated. Differences in maternal mRNA provisioning could lead to phenotypic changes in embryogenesis and ultimately evolutionary changes in development. However, the extent that maternal mRNA expression in eggs can vary is unknown for most developmental models. Here, we use a species with dimorphic development— where females make eggs and larvae of different sizes and life-history modes—to investigate the extent of variation in maternal mRNA provisioning to the egg. Results: We find that there is significant variation in gene expression across eggs of different development modes, and that there are both qualitative and quantitative differences in mRNA expression. We separate parental effects from allelic effects, and find that both mechanisms contribute to mRNA expression differences. We also find that offspring of intraspecific crosses differentially provision their eggs based on the parental cross direction (a parental effect), which has not been previously demonstrated in reproductive traits like oogenesis. Conclusion: We find that maternally controlled initiation of development is functionally distinct between eggs of different sizes and maternal genotypes. Both allele-specific effects and parent-of-origin effects contribute to gene expression differences in eggs. The latter indicates an intergenerational effect where a parent’s genotype can affect gene expression in an egg made by the next generation.
Project description:Maternal inheritance via the female-specific W chromosome was long ago proposed as a potential solution to the evolutionary enigma of co-existing host-specific races (or 'gentes') in avian brood parasites. Here we report the first unambiguous evidence for maternal inheritance of egg colouration in the brood-parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus. Females laying blue eggs belong to an ancient (∼2.6 Myr) maternal lineage, as evidenced by both mitochondrial and W-linked DNA, but are indistinguishable at nuclear DNA from other common cuckoos. Hence, cuckoo host races with blue eggs are distinguished only by maternally inherited components of the genome, which maintain host-specific adaptation despite interbreeding among males and females reared by different hosts. A mitochondrial phylogeny suggests that blue eggs originated in Asia and then expanded westwards as female cuckoos laying blue eggs interbred with the existing European population, introducing an adaptive trait that expanded the range of potential hosts.
Project description:2C embryos were generated from Kdm1a FL/Fl Zp3Cre females mated to wild type males for RNA-seq analysis using the Nugen Ovation RNA-seq system V2. Ovulated eggs from Kdm1a FL/Fl Zp3Cre females were isolated for RNA-seq analysis using the Nugen Ovation RNA-seq system V2.
Project description:Four separate biological collections of unfertilized eggs laid by wildtype females mated with sterile males, eggs dechorionated and snap-forzen in liquid nitrogen 0-1 hour after egg lay. Set of arrays organized by shared biological context, such as organism, tumors types, processes, etc. Keywords: Logical Set
Project description:The frequency of egg aneuploidy and trisomic pregnancies increases with maternal age. To what extent individual approaches can delay the “maternal age effect” is unclear since multiple causes contribute to chromosomal abnormalities in mammalian eggs. We propose that ovulation frequency determines the physiological ageing of oocytes, a key aspect of which is the ability to accurately segregate chromosomes and produce euploid eggs. To test this hypothesis, ovulations were reduced using successive pregnancies, hormonal contraception and a pre-pubertal knockout mouse model, and the effects on chromosome segregation and egg ploidy were examined. We show that each intervention reduces chromosomal abnormalities in eggs of aged mice, suggesting that ovulation reduction delays oocyte ageing. The protective effect can be partly explained by retention of chromosomal Rec8-cohesin that maintains sister chromatid cohesion in meiosis. In addition, single-nucleus Hi-C (snHi-C) revealed a deterioration in 3D chromatin structure including an increase in extruded loop sizes in long-lived oocytes. Artificial cleavage of Rec8 is sufficient to increase extruded loop sizes, suggesting that cohesin complexes maintaining cohesion restrict loop extrusion. These findings suggest that ovulation suppression protects against Rec8 loss, thereby maintaining both sister chromatid cohesion and 3D chromatin structure and promoting production of euploid eggs. We conclude that the “maternal age effect” can be delayed in mice. An implication of this work is that long-term ovulation-suppressing conditions can potentially reduce the risk of Down’s syndrome pregnancies at advanced maternal age.
Project description:A stable supply of viable eggs and embryos is crucial for successful farming of Atlantic cod. Broodstock stress can have negative effects, but little is known about the molecular mechanisms that cause abnormal development. Maternally transferred mRNAs have been shown to be essential for normal development, and stress may therefore influence their expression and the subsequent embryonic development. We investigated if mimicked stress in prespawning Atlantic cod females affects mRNA concentrations in eggs and embryos, and if this can be linked to egg/embryo viability, and if we could identify potential molecular markers for stress and egg/embryo viability. Consequently, 3 weeks prior to expected peak spawning, 20 females were intraperitoneally implanted with either cortisol-containing or cortisol-free (sham) osmotic pumps. At peak spawning all individuals were stripped and eggs were fertilized and incubated until hatching. Samples were collected from unfertilized eggs and embryos for gene expression profiling.
Project description:Four separate biological collections of unfertilized eggs laid by wildtype females mated with sterile males, eggs dechorionated and snap-forzen in liquid nitrogen 0-1 hour after egg lay. Set of arrays organized by shared biological context, such as organism, tumors types, processes, etc. Computed