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CC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Epigenetic inheritance of DNA methylation changes in fish living in hydrogen sulfide–rich springs
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.118(26)
06/29/2021
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/122742
PMID: 34185679
Abstract
Significance
Environmental factors can promote phenotypic variation through alterations in the epigenome and mediate adaptation of an organism to the environment. Observations suggest the adaptation of
Poecilia mexicana
fish to toxic, hydrogen sulfide–rich environments in southern Mexico may, in part, be promoted through epigenetic DNA methylation alterations that became generationally stable and are inherited to subsequent generations independent of the environment. Environmental epigenetics may provide an important mechanism mediating adaptation in this species. This is an observation that the epigenome is stably inherited generationally through the germline after the removal of an environmental stressor (i.e., hydrogen sulfide) from a wild population.
Environmental factors can promote phenotypic variation through alterations in the epigenome and facilitate adaptation of an organism to the environment. Although hydrogen sulfide is toxic to most organisms, the fish
Poecilia mexicana
has adapted to survive in environments with high levels that exceed toxicity thresholds by orders of magnitude. Epigenetic changes in response to this environmental stressor were examined by assessing DNA methylation alterations in red blood cells, which are nucleated in fish. Males and females were sampled from sulfidic and nonsulfidic natural environments; individuals were also propagated for two generations in a nonsulfidic laboratory environment. We compared epimutations between the sexes as well as field and laboratory populations. For both the wild-caught (F0) and the laboratory-reared (F2) fish, comparing the sulfidic and nonsulfidic populations revealed evidence for significant differential DNA methylation regions (DMRs). More importantly, there was over 80% overlap in DMRs across generations, suggesting that the DMRs have stable generational inheritance in the absence of the sulfidic environment. This is an example of epigenetic generational stability after the removal of an environmental stressor. The DMR-associated genes were related to sulfur toxicity and metabolic processes. These findings suggest that adaptation of
P. mexicana
to sulfidic environments in southern Mexico may, in part, be promoted through epigenetic DNA methylation alterations that become stable and are inherited by subsequent generations independent of the environment.
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Details
- Title
- Epigenetic inheritance of DNA methylation changes in fish living in hydrogen sulfide–rich springs
- Creators
- Joanna L. Kelley - Washington State University, Biological Sciences, School ofMichael Tobler - Kansas State UniversityDaniel Beck - Washington State University, Biological Sciences, School ofIngrid Sadler-Riggleman - School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99163Corey R. Quackenbush - School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99163Lenin Arias Rodriguez - División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, 86150 Villahermosa, MéxicoMichael K. Skinner - Washington State University, Biological Sciences, School of
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.118(26)
- Academic Unit
- Biological Sciences, School of; Kelley Lab
- Identifiers
- 99900882930801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article