Adaptive maternal and paternal effects: gamete plasticity in response to parental stress

摘要: Summary: Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity is increasingly recognized as an important buffer of environmental change - many studies show that mothers alter the phenotype their offspring so to maximize performance in local environment. Fewer have examined capacity parents gametes cope with change. In organisms shed externally, are extremely vulnerable stresses and transgenerational phenotypes seems likely this group. a marine tubeworm, Hydroides diramphus, we manipulated salinity environment fathers experienced before reproduction then gametes, well those resultant larvae different salinities. We found strong evidence for gamete both adaptively adjust regime by parents. Parents were quite flexible they produced: could switch tolerance back forth depending on most recent experience. Gamete was not without risks, however. observed trade-offs when did match These effects parental persist duration larval phase such may be able disperse environments do therefore represent source phenotype-environment mismatches. mechanism coping maternal paternal species external fertilization. Studies seek predict impacts across generations (e.g. ocean acidification) should include exposures stress interest.