Pre-natal exposure to glucocorticoids causes changes in developmental circadian clock gene expression and post-natal behaviour in the Japanese quail
Abstract
The embryonic environment is critical in shaping developmental trajectories and consequently post-natal phenotypes. Exposure to elevated stress hormones during this developmental stage is known to alter a variety of post-natal phenotypic traits, and it has been suggested that pre-natal stress can have long term effects on the circadian rhythm of glucocorticoid hormone production. Despite the importance of the circadian system, the potential impact of developmental glucocorticoid exposure on circadian clock genes, has not yet been fully explored. Here, we showed that pre-natal exposure to corticosterone (CORT, a key glucocorticoid) resulted in a significant upregulation of two key hypothalamic circadian clock genes during the embryonic period in the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Altered expression was still present 10 days into post-natal life for both genes, but then disappeared by post-natal day 28. At post-natal day 28, however, diel rhythms of eating and resting were influenced by exposure to pre-natal CORT. Males exposed to pre-natal CORT featured an earlier acrophase, alongside spending a higher proportion of time feeding. Females exposed to pre-natal CORT featured a less pronounced shift in acrophase and spent less time eating. Both males and females exposed to pre-natal CORT spent less time inactive during the day. Pre-natal CORT males appeared to feature a delay in peak activity levels. Our novel data suggest that these circadian clock genes and aspects of diurnal behaviours are highly susceptible to glucocorticoid disruption during embryonic development, and these effects are persistent across developmental stages, at least into early post-natal life.
Citation
Harvey-Carroll , J , Stevenson , T J , Bussière , L F & Spencer , K A 2024 , ' Pre-natal exposure to glucocorticoids causes changes in developmental circadian clock gene expression and post-natal behaviour in the Japanese quail ' , Hormones and Behavior , vol. 163 , 105562 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105562
Publication
Hormones and Behavior
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0018-506XType
Journal article
Description
Funding: JLH was funded by UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Eastbio Doctoral Training Programme grant number BB/M010996/1. KAS was funded by BBSRC grant (BB/ R003777/1). TJS was funded by the Leverhulme Trust. LFB was funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet: 2021-05466).Collections
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