Article
Environmental Sciences
Xian Qin, Huiju Lin, Yaru Cao, Rudolf Shiu Sun Wu, Keng Po Lai, Richard Yuen Chong Kong
Summary: Exposure to 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in fish can result in developmental toxicity, including growth retardation, decreased heart rate, delayed eye pigmentation, reduced hatching rate, and impaired larval locomotion. Transcriptional analysis revealed that these impairments are controlled by estrogen receptor and related to eye structure, neuronal and synaptic structure, and behavior. Key factors identified, such as PRKAA2, APOB, EPHB2, OXTR, NR2E3, and POU4F2, could serve as biomarkers for assessing EE2-induced embryo developmental toxicity.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Jingyu Li, Shun Xiong, Yanhua Zhao, Chong Li, Wei Han, Guoning Huang
Summary: The re-vitrification of embryos at different stages has varying effects on delivery rates, with re-vitrification at the blastocyst stage showing a decrease in potential compared to re-vitrification at the 8-cell stage. The expression levels of BAX and CASPASE3 were significantly higher in re-vitrified groups.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Davide Baldan, E. Emiel van Loon
Summary: This study found that the foraging behavior of songbird parents is highly coordinated in space and time, with parents changing their foraging locations in response to each other's movements.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Daphne Cortese, Amelie Crespel, Suzanne C. Mills, Tommy Norin, Shaun S. Killen, Ricardo Beldade
Summary: This study investigated the morphological and physiological effects of water flow environments on the orange-fin anemonefish Amphiprion chrysopterus through ontogeny. The results showed that parental water flow had significant impacts on the offspring's phenotype, growth, and survival. The study also revealed potential developmental phenotypic plasticity in caudal fin length and the flexibility of the offspring to cope with different environments.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Li Liu, Lingqian Yin, Yaohan Yuan, Yuan Tang, Zhongzhen Lin, Yiping Liu, Jiandong Yang
Summary: This study investigated the developmental characteristics of skeletal muscle and expression patterns of regulatory genes in quail embryos. The results showed that leg muscle grew faster and had greater weight and myofiber size compared to breast muscle. The MyoD and Pax7 genes played a significant role in embryonic muscle development, with high expression levels in the middle stage of the embryonic period. Embryonic day 12 was identified as a crucial point for muscle development.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Karilyn E. Sant, Kate Annunziato, Sarah Conlin, Gregory Teicher, Phoebe Chen, Olivia Venezia, Gerald B. Downes, Yeonhwa Park, Alicia R. Timme-Laragy
Summary: PFOS exposure during the embryonic period can lead to metabolic dysfunction, pancreatic islet abnormalities, and increased adiposity in later developmental stages. This study suggests that early exposures to PFOS may have lasting effects on metabolic programming throughout the lifecourse.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Reproductive Biology
Rafael Herrera Alvarez, Bernardo Marcozzi Bayeux, Daniel A. Joaquim, Yeda Fumie Watanabe, Patrice Humblot
Summary: The research compared antral follicle count, oocyte production, and embryonic development competence of young, long-lived, and senescent Bos indicus cows. The study found that long-lived and senescent cows had lower AFC compared to young cows, but young cows had higher oocyte production. In terms of embryonic development, young and long-lived cows had higher blastocyst formation rates.
Article
Plant Sciences
Gabrielle D. Sandstedt, Andrea L. Sweigart
Summary: This study investigates the role of parental conflict in shaping endosperm evolution in hybrid seeds of monkeyflowers. By conducting reciprocal crosses between different species and analyzing the development of seeds, the researchers found evidence of parent-of-origin effects on endosperm traits. Specifically, they observed differences in the chalazal haustorium, a tissue within the endosperm, between reciprocal hybrid seeds formed from species with different ploidy levels. These findings suggest that parental conflict in the endosperm may contribute to speciation by affecting resource allocation and seed development.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Junyan Tao, Qinyuan Yang, Min Jing, Xiaowei Sun, Linxuan Tian, Xin Huang, Xiaoli Huang, Wenlu Wan, Hui Ye, Ting Zhang, Feng Hong
Summary: The study aimed to evaluate the effects of embryonic BP3 exposure on reproductive outcomes in later life. The findings revealed that BP3 exposure inhibited the development and maturation of ovaries in adult female zebrafish, accompanied by altered follicle proportions and reduced egg production in offspring embryos. Behavioral results showed a decrease in mating behaviors, while qPCR analysis indicated downregulation of reproduction-related gene expression levels. These results suggest that embryonic BP3 exposure negatively affects fish fertility and the development of their offspring, posing potential risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xingli Zhang, Jingyi Zhao, Tiantian Gan, Caixia Jin, Xiaokang Li, Zhiguo Cao, Kai Jiang, Wei Zou
Summary: This study found that polyamide microplastics (PA MPs) clearly facilitated the bioaccumulation of tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) in the gonads of zebrafish and the transfer of TDCIPP from parents to offspring. Aged PA MPs exhibited stronger binding with TDCIPP compared to pristine forms, and intestinal damage was negligible, resulting in increased intestinal immobilization and prevented parental transfer of TDCIPP. Furthermore, the adverse effects on offspring, such as body weight loss and decreased length, were relieved after PA aging, likely due to the recovery of subintestinal venous plexus angiogenesis, yolk lipid utilization, and ATP synthesis.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Olga Vladimirovna Semenova, Alexey Alexeevich Brazhnikov, Marina Lvovna Butovskaya
Summary: In this paper, game theory is used to study the evolutionary dynamic of parental roles. The main aim of the article is to expand the classical list of evolutionary dynamic parental conflicts by adding important cases that have not been studied extensively. The models developed provide new insights into the evolution of parental care. By introducing hypothetical events and simulating subsequent evolutionary endpoints, the study reveals that reproductive decisions of both parents can be predicted using certain payoff matrices, which serve as proxies for Darwinian fitness gain. The study suggests that future evolutionary studies of human reproductive behavior should focus on estimating the sex-biased asymmetry in potential fitness gains obtained by cooperative and deceptive parents in different environments and cultures.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hongkai Wang, Chen Jing, Hangke Peng, Shangshu Liu, Haocheng Zhao, Weini Zhang, Xinhua Chen, Fengxiao Hu
Summary: This study investigated the parental transfer of TCEP and transgenerational effects on the early development and thyroid hormone homeostasis in F1 larvae. The results showed that parental exposure to TCEP caused developmental toxicity and thyroid endocrine disruption in the subsequent unexposed generation.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Yanqiang Geng, Xiaoming Sun, Lin Lu, Xi Lin, Xiudong Liao, Liyang Zhang, Runlian Wang, Xugang Luo
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effects of in ovo manganese injection on embryonic development, antioxidant capacity, and performance of offspring broilers. The results showed that in ovo manganese injection can enhance the antioxidant capacity in the chick embryonic heart, but high temperature can negatively affect the growth performance of the offspring broilers.
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Shun Xiong, Xiangwei Hao, Yang Gao, Lihong Wu, Junxia Liu, Jiang Wang, Jiahong Zhu, Jingyu Li, Dongyun Liu, Wei Han, Guoning Huang
Summary: This study found that pooling cleavage-stage embryos by vitrification may negatively affect embryonic development potential and is not recommended for preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).
REPRODUCTIVE SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Antonio Capalbo, Silvia Buonaiuto, Matteo Figliuzzi, Gianluca Damaggio, Laura Girardi, Silvia Caroselli, Maurizio Poli, Cristina Patassini, Murat Cetinkaya, Beril Yuksel, Ajuna Azad, Marie Louise Grondahl, Eva R. Hoffmann, Carlos Simon, Vincenza Colonna, Semra Kahraman
Summary: This study identified new and known genes associated with infertility through case selection and whole-exome sequencing analysis, providing important clues for further research.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOMEDICINE ONLINE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Xin Hao, Ting-Ting Zou, Xing-Zhi Han, Fu-Shun Zhang, Wei-Guo Du
Summary: The study shows that maternal effects play a role in mediating the trade-off between growth and survival of lizard offspring in response to climate warming. Offspring in warm climate conditions grow faster, but there is a decrease in survival rate when offspring are from maternal present climate treatment. These findings highlight the importance of adaptive maternal effects in response to climate change.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yin-Zi Ye, Hao Zhang, Jiameng Li, Ren Lai, Shilong Yang, Wei-Guo Du
Summary: Temperature sensing is crucial for living organisms' survival, and turtle embryos exhibit thermotaxic behavior by activating two heat-sensitive ion channels, MrTRPA1 and MrTRPV1. These TRP channels play a key role in controlling the thermal behavior of turtle embryos through a delicate functional balance.
Article
Ecology
Bao-jun Sun, Liang Ma, Yang Wang, Chun-rong Mi, Lauren B. Buckley, Ofir Levy, Hong-liang Lu, Wei-Guo Du
Summary: The study reveals that the mean embryonic acute heat tolerance decreases with decreasing latitude, and the developmental temperatures have different effects on heat tolerance at different latitudes. Based on the findings, it is projected that heat stress frequency will increase and shift towards lower latitudes with climate change, leading to habitat movements and reductions in southern regions.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Xin Hao, Chen-Xu Wang, Xing-Zhi Han, Yang Wang, Qiong Zhang, Fu-Shun Zhang, Bao-Jun Sun, Wei-Guo Du
Summary: This study examined the sources of variation in developmental success among different populations of toad-headed agamid lizards at the embryonic stage, and found that embryonic development may be influenced by the local nest environment, leading to differences among populations.
Article
Ecology
Baojun Sun, Caroline M. Williams, Teng Li, John R. Speakman, Zengguang Jin, Hongliang Lu, Laigao Luo, Weiguo Du
Summary: Patterns in the functional diversity of organisms at large spatial scales can provide insight into their responses to future climate change. However, linking these patterns to underlying physiological mechanisms at the individual level remains a challenge. This study investigated the thermal acclimation of three lizard species in China and found that temperate species had a better acclimation response at the whole organism level compared to tropical species. Two different mechanisms of thermal acclimatization were observed in the temperate species, suggesting that they may represent general strategies used by ectotherms with distinct ecological costs and benefits. The findings suggest that tropical species are more vulnerable to climate change due to the lack of these thermal acclimatization mechanisms.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hong-Xin Xie, Xi-Xi Liang, Zhi-Qiang Chen, Wei-Ming Li, Chun-Rong Mi, Ming Li, Zheng-Jun Wu, Xu-Ming Zhou, Wei-Guo Du
Summary: The study reveals that seriously deleterious alleles were effectively purged during population contractions in the endangered Chinese crocodile lizard, but prolonged bottlenecking may lead to the gradual accumulation of these harmful alleles. Maintaining a minimum population capacity and increasing functional genetic diversity are crucial in conservation efforts for endangered species like the crocodile lizard.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biology
Chunrong Mi, Liang Ma, Yang Wang, Danyang Wu, Weiguo Du, Baojun Sun
Summary: Climate warming has significant impacts on species globally. This study focused on Takydromus lizards and investigated their physiological and life-history responses to warming climates at different latitudes. The findings revealed that the thermal safety margin for lizards is larger at high latitudes, but it is predicted to decrease under climate warming. Furthermore, climate warming will lead to faster embryonic development and longer adult activity time, but it will also exacerbate water loss. The study also highlighted the vulnerability of species from different latitudes to climate warming, with tropical and subtropical species at risk from increased extremely high temperatures, and temperate species vulnerable due to both high temperatures and increased water loss.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Xia Qiu, Martin J. Whiting, Weiguo Du, Zhengjun Wu, Shuyi Luo, Bisong Yue, Jinzhong Fu, Yin Qi
Summary: This study examines colour variation in the endangered crocodile lizard and its relationship with individual quality. While colour plays a key role in social communication, there is no clear link between male and female colour and reproductive output.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Zhong-Wen Jiang, Liang Ma, Chun-Rong Mi, Shi-Ang Tao, Fengyi Guo, Wei-Guo Du
Summary: This study used mechanistic niche models and incorporated species traits to predict the ecophysiological responses of lizard populations at high-elevation and extra-high-elevation under recent and future climates. The results showed that lizards from extra-high-elevation are predicted to experience a greater increase in activity time and oxygen consumption compared to their high-elevation counterparts. By integrating these responses into hybrid species distribution models, the study predicted that lizards at both elevations will shift upslope by 2081-2100, with extra-high-elevation lizards gaining more and losing less habitat than high-elevation lizards. The study highlights the importance of conserving high-elevation species and considering intraspecific variation and local adaptation in physiological traits when predicting species' future distributions under climate change.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Gavin Stark, Liang Ma, Zhi-Gao Zeng, Wei-Guo Du, Ofir Levy
Summary: Worldwide habitat loss, land-use changes, and climate change pose threats to biodiversity. Current models, however, lack consideration of microhabitat diversity within landscapes and fail to inform conservation efforts effectively. By building and field-parameterizing a model, we examine the impacts of habitat loss and climate change on a desert lizard's activity and microhabitat selection. Our findings suggest the importance of incorporating microhabitat requirements into modeling frameworks for better conservation outcomes.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Hongxin Xie, Zixuan Chen, Shuai Pang, Weiguo Du
Summary: Researchers have successfully used high-fidelity long-read data to achieve high-quality genome assembly of the panther chameleon, providing a valuable reference genome for evolutionary and ecological studies in chameleons as well as comparative genomic resources for squamate reptiles.
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Review
Biology
Wei-Guo Du, Shu-Ran Li, Bao-Jun Sun, Richard Shine
Summary: A range of abiotic parameters within a reptile nest influence the viability and attributes of hatchlings. Reproducing females can manipulate the attributes of their offspring by laying eggs at specific times and places. Climate change has the potential to dramatically modify the developmental trajectories and survival rates of embryos, and the phenotypes of hatchlings, by altering thermal and hydric conditions in reptile nests.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Qiong Zhang, Xing-Zhi Han, Pablo Burraco, Xi-Feng Wang, Li-Wei Teng, Zhen-Sheng Liu, Wei-Guo Du
Summary: Heatwaves have negative impacts on the growth and survival of wildlife, especially ectothermic animals. The underlying mechanism is likely related to oxidative stress caused by heatwaves.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Shuo Liu, Bo Zhao, Xiaoting Gu, Weiguo Du
Summary: Studies show that soft-shelled turtles practice behavioral thermoregulation to reduce egg mortality and synchronize hatching. Contrary to traditional beliefs, reptile embryos actively move within their eggs to find optimal temperatures. However, the adaptive significance of this behavior has been debated. This study demonstrates that behavioral thermoregulation by turtle embryos shortens incubation periods, reduces mortality caused by high temperatures, and synchronizes hatching to decrease predation risk, providing empirical evidence of its adaptation.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)