Data from: Interactive effects of yolk testosterone and carotenoid on prenatal growth and offspring physiology in a precocial bird

Conditions experienced by individuals during prenatal development can have
long-term effects on their phenotype. Maternally transmitted resources are
important mediators of such prenatal effects, but the potential
interactive effects among them in shaping offspring phenotype have never
been studied. Maternally derived testosterone is known to stimulate
growth, but these benefits may be counterbalanced by an increase in the
production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Maternally transmitted
carotenoids might have the capacity to scavenge ROS and thereby buffer an
increase in oxidative stress caused by prenatal exposure to high
testosterone levels. Here, we experimentally tested for such interactive
effects between maternal yolk testosterone and carotenoid in Japanese
quail (Coturnix japonica). We found that hatching mass was reduced and
reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) levels at the end of the period of
maximal growth increased in chicks from eggs injected with either
testosterone or carotenoid (only a tendency in chicks from
testosterone-injected eggs). However, when both egg compounds were
manipulated simultaneously, hatching mass and ROM levels were not
affected, showing that both carotenoid and testosterone lose their
detrimental effects when the ratio between the 2 compounds is balanced.
Our study provides the first experimental evidence for interactive effects
of 2 maternally derived egg compounds on offspring phenotype and suggests
that developmental cues are tightly coadjusted within an egg.

个体在产前发育阶段所经历的环境条件，可能对其表型产生长期影响。母体传递的资源是这类产前效应的重要中介，但这些资源在塑造后代表型过程中的潜在交互作用尚未得到研究。已知母体来源的睾酮可促进生长，但这种益处可能被活性氧（reactive oxygen species, ROS）生成增加所抵消。母体传递的类胡萝卜素可能具有清除ROS的能力，从而缓冲因产前暴露于高睾酮水平而导致的氧化应激增加。本研究以日本鹌鹑（Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica）为对象，通过实验验证了母体卵黄睾酮与类胡萝卜素之间的此类交互作用。结果显示，注射睾酮或类胡萝卜素的卵所孵化的雏鸟，其出壳体重降低，且在生长最快时期结束时的活性氧代谢物（reactive oxygen metabolites, ROMs）水平升高（仅睾酮注射组雏鸟呈现趋势性变化）。然而，当同时调控这两种卵内化合物时，雏鸟的出壳体重和ROM水平均未受影响，表明当两者比例平衡时，类胡萝卜素与睾酮的有害效应均会消失。本研究首次为两种母体来源的卵内化合物对后代表型的交互作用提供了实验证据，并提示卵内的发育信号存在紧密的协同调控。