Primary data of the manuscript from Dormant plasticity of rotifer diapausing eggs in response to predator kairomones

In freshwater ecosystems, hatching strategy of diapausing eggs (DEs) under predation risk has important ecological implication for zooplankters. Although kairomones released by predators can induce phenotypic responses of prey, hatching patterns of DEs in response to kairomones have received contradictory conclusions in zooplankters. Maternal environment may also affect hatching strategy of DEs during predator–prey interactions. We used classical <i>Brachionus calyciflorus</i>–<i>Asplanchna</i> models to determine the timing and proportion of diapausing-egg hatching in association with parental and embryonic exposure to kairomones. Results obtained from two <i>Brachionus</i> clones supported the hypothesis that DEs could detect <i>Asplanchna</i> kairomones and adjust hatching patterns. DEs showed early and synchronous hatching patterns in the environment with kairomones. Data also supported the prediction that DEs could gain information about predators from maternal environments and adjusted their hatching pattern in response to the presence of kairomones. Compared with DEs from <i>Brachionus</i> mothers not exposed to kairomones, DEs produced by mothers experienced kairomones attained a higher hatching rate when both of them hatched in the environment either with kairomones or not. Our results suggest that DEs of <i>B</i>. <i>calyciflorus</i> possess dormant plasticity to defend against predation from <i>Asplanchna</i>, which may be regulated by maternal environmental effects during sexual life cycles.

在淡水生态系统中，捕食风险下的滞育卵（diapausing eggs, DEs）孵化策略对浮游动物具有重要的生态学意义。尽管捕食者释放的利它素（kairomones）可诱导猎物产生表型响应，但现有针对浮游动物滞育卵响应利它素的孵化模式研究仍存在相互矛盾的结论。在捕食者-猎物互作过程中，母体环境也可能影响滞育卵的孵化策略。本研究采用经典的萼花臂尾轮虫（*Brachionus calyciflorus*）-晶囊轮虫（*Asplanchna*）模型，探究了母体与胚胎暴露于利它素环境下滞育卵的孵化时间与孵化比例。来自两个臂尾轮虫克隆株的实验结果验证了相关假说：滞育卵可感知晶囊轮虫利它素，并调整自身孵化模式。在利它素存在的环境中，滞育卵呈现出提早且同步的孵化模式。实验数据同时支持了另一项预测：滞育卵可从母体环境中获取捕食者相关信息，并根据利它素的存在调整孵化模式。与未暴露于利它素的臂尾轮虫母体所产滞育卵相比，经利它素暴露的母体所产滞育卵，无论其孵化环境是否存在利它素，均表现出更高的孵化率。本研究结果表明，萼花臂尾轮虫的滞育卵具有休眠可塑性，以抵御晶囊轮虫的捕食，该可塑性可能在有性生殖周期中受母体环境效应的调控。