title: Reduced resistance to oxidative stress during reproduction as a cost of early-life stress.
abstract: Stress exposure during early-life development can have long-term consequences for a variety of biological functions including oxidative stress. The link between early-life stress and oxidative balance is beginning to be explored and previous studies have focused on this link in adult non-breeding or immature individuals. However, as oxidative stress is considered as the main physiological mechanism underlying the trade-off between self-maintenance and investment in reproduction, it is necessary to look at the consequences of early-life stress on oxidative status during reproduction. Here, we investigated the effects of exposure to pre- and/or post-natal stress on oxidative balance during reproduction under benign or stressful environmental conditions in an avian model species, the Japanese quail. We determined total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS) and resistance to a free-radical attack in individual exposed to pre-natal stress, post-natal stress or both and in control individuals exposed to none of the stressors. TAS levels decreased over time in all females that reproduced under stressful conditions. TOS decreased between the beginning and the end of reproductive period in pre-natal control females. In all females, resistance to a free-radical attack decreased over the reproductive event but this decrease was more pronounced in females from a pre-natal stress development. Our results suggest that pre-natal stress may be associated with a higher cost of reproduction in terms of oxidative stress. These results also confirm that early-life stress can be associated with both benefits and costs depending of the life-history stage or environmental context.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, United Kingdom. Electronic address: cz6@st-andrews.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zimmer
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Spencer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D003370:Coturnix / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D016877:Oxidants / Q000097:blood; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D016877:Oxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
keywords: Antioxidant; Developmental programming; Early life stress; Oxidative stress; Post-natal stress; Pre-natal stress; Reactive oxygen species; Reproduction cost