Embryonic heart rate correlates with maternal temperature and developmental stage in viviparous snakes.

Autor: Evans KE; Westmont College, 955 La Paz Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93108, USA., Brummett L; Westmont College, 955 La Paz Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93108, USA., Combrink L; Westmont College, 955 La Paz Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93108, USA., Holden K; Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA., Catalina G; Westmont College, 955 La Paz Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93108, USA., Farrar S; Westmont College, 955 La Paz Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93108, USA., Rodriguez C; Westmont College, 955 La Paz Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93108, USA., Sparkman AM; Westmont College, 955 La Paz Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93108, USA. Electronic address: sparkman@westmont.edu.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology [Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol] 2021 Mar; Vol. 253, pp. 110874. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Dec 23.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2020.110874
Abstrakt: Interactions between the environment and maternal and embryonic physiology can have critical ramifications for early-life phenotypes and survival in a range of species. A major component of the environment-maternal-embryonic nexus is the regulation of embryonic heart rate, which can have important ramifications for developmental phenology, but remains relatively unexplored in viviparous reptiles. The goal of this study was to test for a relationship between embryonic heart rate and maternal body temperature in two species of viviparous garter snakes. The embryonic heart rates of Thamnophis elegans and T. sirtalis were assessed using a field-portable ultrasound. For both T. elegans and T. sirtalis, embryonic heart rate was strongly correlated to maternal temperature. Interestingly, there was also a strong correlation between embryonic and maternal heart rate that was most likely mediated by a common response to maternal body temperature, in spite of the effects of handling during ultrasound on maternal heart rate. Furthermore, embryos at earlier developmental stages had lower heart rates. To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore embryonic heart rate in viviparous reptiles, providing a foundation for future work using ultrasonography to test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses related to developmental dynamics in free-ranging viviparous species.
(Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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