title: Paternal epigenetic effects of population density on locust phase-related characteristics associated with heat-shock protein expression.
abstract: Many species exhibit transgenerational plasticity by which environmental cues experienced by either parent can be transmitted to their offspring, resulting in phenotypic variants in offspring to match ancestral environments. However, the manner by which paternal experiences affect offspring plasticity through epigenetic inheritance in animals generally remains unclear. In this study, we examined the transgenerational effects of population density on phase-related traits in the migratory locust Locusta migratoria. Using an experimental design that explicitly controls genetic background, we found that the effects of crowd or isolation rearing on phase plasticity could be inherited to the offspring. The isolation of gregarious locusts resulted in reduced weight in offspring eggs and altered morphometric traits in hatchlings, whereas crowding of solitarious locusts exhibited opposite effects. The consequences of density changes were transmitted by both maternal and paternal inheritance, although the expression of paternal effects was not as pronounced as that of maternal effects. Prominent expression of heat-shock proteins (Hsps), such as Hsp90, Hsp70 and Hsp20.6, could be triggered by density changes. Hsps were significantly upregulated upon crowding but downregulated upon isolation. The variation in parental Hsp expression was also transmitted to the offspring, in which the pattern of inheritance was consistent with that of phase characteristics. These results revealed a paternal effect on phase polyphenism and Hsp expression induced by population density, and defined a model system that could be used to study the paternal epigenetic inheritance of environmental changes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shaoqin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Xiwen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004777:Environment; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D017344:Genes, Insect; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D040582:Inheritance Patterns; D048188:Locusta migratoria / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D010063:Ovum / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D011156:Population Density
chemical_list: D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins
keywords: Locusta migratoria; epigenetic inheritance; heat-shock protein; maternal effect; paternal effect; transgenerational plasticity