Maternal source of variability in the embryo development of an annual killifish
Abstract
Organisms inhabiting unpredictable environments often evolve diversified reproductive bet-hedging strategies, expressed as production of multiple offspring phenotypes, thereby avoiding complete reproductive failure. To cope with unpredictable rainfall, African annual killifish from temporary savannah pools lay drought-resistant eggs that vary widely in the duration of embryo development. We examined the sources of variability in the duration of individual embryo development, egg production and fertilization rate in Nothobranchius furzeri. Using a quantitative genetics approach (North Carolina Type II design) we found support for maternal effects rather than polyandrous mating as the primary source of the variability in the duration of embryo development. The number of previously laid eggs appeared to serve as an internal physiological cue initiating a shift from rapid to slow embryo developmental mode. In annual killifish extensive phenotypic variability in progeny traits is adaptive, as the conditions experienced by parents have limited relevance to the offspring generation. In contrast to genetic control, with high phenotypic expression and heritability, maternal control of traits under natural selection prevents standing genetic diversity from potentially detrimental effects of selection in fluctuating environments.
Citation
Polačik , M , Smith , C & Reichard , M 2017 , ' Maternal source of variability in the embryo development of an annual killifish ' , Journal of Evolutionary Biology , vol. 30 , no. 4 , pp. 738-749 . https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13038
Publication
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1420-9101Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2017, European Society for Evolutionary Biology. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at onlinelibrary.wiley.com / https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13038
Description
The study was supported by the Czech Science foundation, grant No. GA206/09/0815.Collections
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