Male voles Arvicola terrestris scherman escaping to seasonal breeding: an example of a disturbance likely induced by environmental change
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Microtus ochrogaster
PROVIDER: GSE311418 | GEO | 2026/04/22
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:The water vole Arvicola terrestris (= Arvicola amphibious L.) is endemic in Europe where its outbreak generates severe economic losses for farmers. Our project aimed at deciphering the modalities of chemical communication in this species, to develop new sustainable methods for populations control. The water vole, as well as other rodents, uses specific urination sites as territorial and sex pheromone markers, the chemical and biochemical identification of which is still unknown. Lateral scent glands and urine samples were collected from wild males and females caught in the field, at different periods of the year. Volatile signals were searched in urine by SPME/GC-MS, and in lateral scent glands by solvent extraction followed by GC-MS. The volatile composition of urine was analysed for each individual and not on pooled samples, showing no significant difference between males and females. Lateral scent glands contained some volatile components (pyrazines, alcohols, terpenes), and mostly long chain fatty acid esters, again without quantitative and qualitative differences between sexes. Conversely, the urinary protein content, analysed by 1D- and 2D-electrophoresis is different, as only males secrete high levels of lipocalins, whatever the reproduction period. The proteins were identified by mass spectrometry and “de novo” analysis (Orbitrap), which provided specific information to design primers for PCR amplification of cDNA sequences. Thus, urinary proteins were characterized by direct amplification from liver RNA. The identified protein sequences are closed to those of Myodes glareolus, a closely related species of Cricetidae, and to hamster Aphrodisin.
2019-12-11 | PXD013803 | Pride
Project description:Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster) and Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) Brain RNAseq
| PRJNA682808 | ENA
Project description:The importance of fathers' engagement in care and its critical role in the offspring’s cognitive and emotional development is now well established. Yet, little is known on the underlying neurobiology due to the lack of appropriate animal models. In the socially monogamous and bi-parental prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), while most virgin males show spontaneous paternal behaviors (Paternal), others display pup-directed aggression (Attackers). Here we took advantage of this phenotypic dichotomy and used RNA-sequencing in three important brain areas to characterize gene expression associated with paternal behaviors of Paternal males and compare it to experienced fathers and mothers. This strategy allowed the identification of spontaneous paternal behaviors independently from fatherhood and pair-bonding. While Paternal males displayed the same range and extent of paternal behaviors than experienced Fathers, the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and medial preoptic area (MPOA) transcriptomes mainly reflected pair-bonded status or sex differences, respectively. The lateral septum (LS) transcriptome, however, primarily reflected phenotypic differences between Paternal and Attackers and suggested the involvement of the mitochondria, RNA translation, and protein degradation processes. Altogether, these observations highlight a marked structure- and phenotype-specific pattern of gene expression underlying paternal behaviors in prairie voles and highlight similarities and differences from those underlying fatherhood.
2022-10-05 | GSE190213 | GEO
Project description:In socially monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), parental behaviors not only occur in mothers and fathers, but also can exist in virgin males. However, some virgin males display aggressive behaviors towards conspecific pups. Although this behavioral dichotomy in response to pup exposure has been well documented in male virgin voles, little is known about the gene expression changes underlie the parental behavioral differences and their regulatory mechanisms. To address this, we profiled the transcriptome and DNA methylome of hippocampal dentate gyrus of four prairie vole groups, attacker virgin males, parental virgin males, fathers, and mothers. We found a concordant pattern of gene transcription in parental virgin males and fathers, when comparing to the attacker group. The methylome analysis also revealed pathways with genes enriched for epigenetic changes involving both receptor-mediated and secondary messenger signaling across both behavioral phenotypes and sexual experiences. Furthermore, we found correlations between gene expression changes and DNA methylation differences between attacker and parental virgin males, which suggests a canonical gene expression regulatory role of DNA methylation in paternal care. Therefore, our study presents an integrated view of transcriptome and epigenome that provides a DNA epigenetic based molecular insight of paternal behavior.
2023-07-12 | GSE214798 | GEO
Project description:In socially monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), parental behaviors not only occur in mothers and fathers, but also can exist in virgin males. However, some virgin males display aggressive behaviors towards conspecific pups. Although this behavioral dichotomy in response to pup exposure has been well documented in male virgin voles, little is known about the gene expression changes underlie the parental behavioral differences and their regulatory mechanisms. To address this, we profiled the transcriptome and DNA methylome of hippocampal dentate gyrus of four prairie vole groups, attacker virgin males, parental virgin males, fathers, and mothers. We found a concordant pattern of gene transcription in parental virgin males and fathers, when comparing to the attacker group. The methylome analysis also revealed pathways with genes enriched for epigenetic changes involving both receptor-mediated and secondary messenger signaling across both behavioral phenotypes and sexual experiences. Furthermore, we found correlations between gene expression changes and DNA methylation differences between attacker and parental virgin males, which suggests a canonical gene expression regulatory role of DNA methylation in paternal care. Therefore, our study presents an integrated view of transcriptome and epigenome that provides a DNA epigenetic based molecular insight of paternal behavior.
2023-07-12 | GSE214797 | GEO
Project description:Many terrestrial ectotherms have gone to great evolutionary lengths to adapt to long cold winters; some have even evolved the ability to tolerate the freezing of most of the water in the body. Now, however, high-elevation, and high-latitude winters are experiencing an accelerated period of warming. Specialized winter adaptations that promoted fitness in a seasonally frozen environment may soon be superfluous or even maladaptive. We ask whether winter adaptations include changes in immune functions, and whether changing winter conditions could exert disparate effects on populations of a wide-ranging terrestrial ectotherm, the wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus). By rearing wood frogs from ancestral winter environments that vary in length and temperature in a common garden, and reciprocally crossing post-metamorphic frogs into unfrozen and frozen artificial winter conditions in the lab, we were able to decompose transcriptomic differences in ventral skin gene expression into those that were environmentally induced (responsive to temperature), genetically determined, and those that varied as an interaction between genotype and environment. We found that frogs from harsh ancestral winter environments upregulated immune processes, including cellular immunity, inflammatory processes, and adaptive immune processes, as compared to frogs from mild ancestral winter environments. Further, we saw that expression of several genes varied in an interaction between genotype and artificial winter environment, a pattern that was recapitulated at the level of hepatosomatic index (the proportion of body mass comprising liver). We suggest that just as winter climates likely served as the selective force resulting in remarkable winter adaptations such as freeze tolerance, they also induced constitutive changes in immune gene expression.
2025-04-14 | GSE266397 | GEO
Project description:Persistent free-running circannual (circa 1-year) rhythms have evolved in animals to regulate hormone cycles and time annual reproduction. In mammals, these are synchronized by environmental photoperiod and the melatonin signal. Long summer-like photoperiods (LP) activates thyrotrophs and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) expression in the melatonin target tissue, the pars tuberalis (PT) region of the pituitary gland, driven by the transcriptional co-activator EYA3. TSH in turn stimulates thyroid hormone (TH) conversion in hypothalamic ependymal tanycytes, thus timing breeding seasons. In contrast to our new knowledge defining photoperiodic input, it is still not known which cells, tissues and pathways generate the underlying circannual cycle. We used seasonal sheep to characterise the circannual cycle, transferring animals from short winter-like photoperiods (SP) to prolonged LP conditions, and assaying prolactin to track circannual phase in individual animals. Using RNA-seq, we profiled PT cells at different phases of the circannual cycle, and defined extensive changes of cellular-remodeling pathways and genes encoding synaptic guidance proteins in the PT.
2015-10-09 | GSE65900 | GEO
Project description:Persistent free-running circannual (circa 1-year) rhythms have evolved in animals to regulate hormone cycles and time annual reproduction. In mammals, these are synchronized by environmental photoperiod and the melatonin signal. Long summer-like photoperiods (LP) activates thyrotrophs and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) expression in the melatonin target tissue, the pars tuberalis (PT) region of the pituitary gland, driven by the transcriptional co-activator EYA3. TSH in turn stimulates thyroid hormone (TH) conversion in hypothalamic ependymal tanycytes, thus timing breeding seasons. In contrast to our new knowledge defining photoperiodic input, it is still not known which cells, tissues and pathways generate the underlying circannual cycle. We used seasonal sheep to characterise the circannual cycle, transferring animals from short winter-like photoperiods (SP) to prolonged LP conditions, and assaying prolactin to track circannual phase in individual animals. Using RNA-seq, we profiled PT cells at different phases of the circannual cycle, and defined extensive changes of cellular-remodeling pathways and genes encoding synaptic guidance proteins in the PT.
2015-10-09 | GSE65475 | GEO
Project description:Male voles Arvicola terrestris scherman escaping to seasonal breeding: an example of a disturbance likely induced by environmental change
| PRJNA1369434 | ENA
Project description:An Infinium microarray platform (GPL28271, HorvathMammalMethylChip40) was used to generate DNA methylation data from several tissues from prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Ear, liver, and brain samples from the Cornell University prairie vole colony were collected from 48 male and female prairie voles at various life stages: neonatal (<1 month old), sub-adult (2-4 months old), mature adult (4-10 months old), and middle aged/old adult (>10 months old). The pair bonded male and female prairie voles used in our study cohabitated with their partners for several months and produced at least three generations of litters. Animals were euthanized via rapid decapitation, their tissues rapidly extracted and frozen on dry ice before being stored at -80C until further processing for genomic DNA extraction. Brains were coronally sectioned and brain regions from the pair bonding circuit (PBC) were micro-dissected and pooled for each animal. The PBC brain regions included the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, lateral septum, ventral pallidum, and medial amygdala, and ventral tegmental area. Genomic DNA was isolated and purified using the phenol-chloroform extraction and ethanol precipitation method. A total of 144 tissue samples were collected and processed for DNA methylation analysis. Tissues: Brain, Ear, Liver
2023-08-07 | GSE174758 | GEO