Data from: Developmental behavioural plasticity and DNA methylation patterns in response to predation stress in Trinidadian guppies

Early-life experiences can predict the environments experienced later in
life, giving individuals an opportunity to develop adaptive behaviour
appropriate to a likely future environment. Epigenetic mechanisms such as
DNA methylation (DNAm) have been implicated in developmental behavioural
plasticity, however, studies investigating this possibility are limited in
taxonomic breadth and ecological relevance. We investigated the impact of
early-life exposure to predation stress on behaviour and DNAm in the
brains of Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata). We exposed guppies
throughout development to either alarm cue (conspecific skin extract),
inducing predation stress, or a control cue (water) for eight weeks and
then raised them to adulthood under identical conditions. We then
conducted two behavioural assays, an open-field and a grouping test,
before performing whole-genome bisulfite sequencing on whole brains.
Guppies exposed to alarm cue during development exhibited increased
grouping (shoaling) in adulthood compared to those exposed to the control
treatment, but there were no detectable impacts on activity, boldness, or
exploratory behaviour. We also identified stable shifts in brain DNAm in
response to developmental alarm cue exposure in genes involved in
behavioural regulation. Some differentially methylated sites were
significantly associated with shoaling propensity in both males and
females. Additionally, males and females differed in the magnitude of DNAm
responses and the genes impacted, suggesting distinct roles for DNAm
between the sexes. This study shows how early-life predation stress can
induce behavioural changes in adulthood and that shifts in neural DNAm
could be an underlying mechanism responsible for these changes.