Rapid changes in DNA methylation associated with the initiation of reproduction in a small songbird

Lindner, MelanieNetherlands Inst Ecol NIOO KNAW, Dept Anim Ecol, Wageningen, Netherlands.;Univ Groningen, Groningen Inst Evolutionary Life Sci GELIFES, Chronobiol Unit, Groningen, Netherlands. (author)

Species with a circannual life cycle need to match the timing of their life history events to the environment to maximize fitness. However, our understanding of how circannual traits such as timing of reproduction are regulated on a molecular level remains limited. Recent studies have implicated that epigenetic mechanisms can be an important part in the processes that regulate circannual traits. Here, we explore the role of DNA methylation in mediating reproductive timing in a seasonally breeding bird species, the great tit (Parus major), using genome-wide DNA methylation data from individual females that were blood sampled repeatedly throughout the breeding season. We demonstrate rapid and directional changes in DNA methylation within the promoter region of several genes, including a key transcription factor (NR5A1) known from earlier studies to be involved in the initiation of timing of reproduction. Interestingly, the observed changes in DNA methylation at NR5A1 identified here are in line with earlier gene expression studies of reproduction in chicken, indicating that the observed shifts in DNA methylation at this gene can have a regulatory role. Our findings provide an important step towards elucidating the genomic mechanism that mediates seasonal timing of a key life history traits and provide support for the idea that epigenetic mechanisms may play an important role in circannual traits.

Laine, Veronika N.Netherlands Inst Ecol NIOO KNAW, Dept Anim Ecol, Wageningen, Netherlands.;Univ Helsinki, Finnish Museum Nat Hist, Helsinki, Finland. (author)
Verhagen, IreneNetherlands Inst Ecol NIOO KNAW, Dept Anim Ecol, Wageningen, Netherlands. (author)
Viitaniemi, Heidi M.Univ Helsinki, Organismal & Evolutionary Biol Res Programme OEB, Helsinki, Finland. (author)
Visser, Marcel E.Netherlands Inst Ecol NIOO KNAW, Dept Anim Ecol, Wageningen, Netherlands.;Univ Groningen, Groningen Inst Evolutionary Life Sci GELIFES, Chronobiol Unit, Groningen, Netherlands. (author)
van Oers, KeesNetherlands Inst Ecol NIOO KNAW, Dept Anim Ecol, Wageningen, Netherlands. (author)
Husby, Arild,Associate Senior LecturerUppsala universitet,Evolutionsbiologi,Univ Helsinki, Organismal & Evolutionary Biol Res Programme OEB, Helsinki, Finland.;NTNU, Ctr Biodivers Dynam, Trondheim, Norway.(Swepub:uu)arihu528 (author)
Netherlands Inst Ecol NIOO KNAW, Dept Anim Ecol, Wageningen, Netherlands.;Univ Groningen, Groningen Inst Evolutionary Life Sci GELIFES, Chronobiol Unit, Groningen, Netherlands.Netherlands Inst Ecol NIOO KNAW, Dept Anim Ecol, Wageningen, Netherlands.;Univ Helsinki, Finnish Museum Nat Hist, Helsinki, Finland. (creator_code:org_t)

By the author/editor: Lindner, Melanie; Laine, Veronika ...; Verhagen, Irene; Viitaniemi, Heid ...; Visser, Marcel E ...; van Oers, Kees; show more...; Husby, Arild, As ...; show less...

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NATURAL SCIENCES: NATURAL SCIENCES; and Biological Scien ...; and Evolutionary Bio ...

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