title: Effect of parental hypoxic exposure on embryonic development of the offspring of two serpulid polychaetes: Implication for transgenerational epigenetic effect.
abstract: Sperm production and motility, fecundity, and egg size, complexity and viability of serpulid polychaetes Hydroides elegans and Hydroides diramphus after 2-week treatment to hypoxia (2 mg O2 l(-1)) was compared with those under normoxia (6 mg O2 l(-1)). Despite reduced fecundity, the effect of parental hypoxic exposure on gamete quality was not discernible for both species. However, regardless of their subsequent dissolved oxygen environment, eggs spawned by H. elegans after hypoxic exposure were found to have lower fertilization success, slower embryonic development and a significantly higher yield of malformed embryos than those with a parental normoxic treatment. In contrast, neither fertilization success nor rate of embryonic development was affected for H. diramphus. The results implied that hypoxia was a potential stress reducing the recruitment of H. elegans through non-adaptive epigenetic effect, whereas H. diramphus was a more tolerant species to survive hypoxic events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: J Y S
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: P O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Ang
authors.forename: J M Y
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Thiyagarajan
authors.forename: P K S
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000502:physiology*; D047108:Embryonic Development; D057890:Epigenomics; D005068:Eutrophication; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis; D011077:Polychaeta / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Embryonic development; Epigenetic effect; Fertilization success; Gametes; Hypoxia; Serpulid polychaetes