Search results for "metsämyyrä"

Analysis of heteroplasmy in bank voles inhabiting the Chernobyl exclusion zone : A commentary on Baker et al. (2017) "Elevated mitochondrial genome v…

2018

Exposure to environmental radionuclides is associated with altered metabolic and immunity pathways in a wild rodent

2019

Wildlife inhabiting environments contaminated by radionuclides face putative detrimental effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, with biomarkers such as an increase in DNA damage and/or oxidative stress commonly associated with radiation exposure. To examine the effects of exposure to radiation on gene expression in wildlife, we conducted a de novo RNA sequencing study of liver and spleen tissues from a rodent, the bank vole Myodes glareolus. Bank voles were collected from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), where animals were exposed to elevated levels of radionuclides, and from uncontaminated areas near Kyiv, Ukraine. Counter to expectations, we did not observe a strong DNA damage resp…

Borrelia afzeliialters reproductive success in a rodent host

2018

The impact of a pathogen on the fitness and behaviour of its natural host depends upon the host–parasite relationship in a given set of environmental conditions. Here, we experimentally investigated the effects ofBorrelia afzelii,one of the aetiological agents of Lyme disease in humans, on the fitness of its natural rodent host, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), in semi-natural conditions with two contrasting host population densities. Our results show thatB. afzeliican modify the reproductive success and spacing behaviour of its rodent host, whereas host survival was not affected. Infection impaired the breeding probability of large bank voles. Reproduction was hastened in infected females…

Do phase-dependent life history traits in cyclic voles persist in a common environment?

2019

Phenotype and life history traits of an individual are a product of environmental conditions and the genome. Environment can be current or past, which complicates the distinction between environmental and heritable effects on the phenotype in wild animals. We studied genome–environment interactions on phenotype and life history traits by transplanting bank voles (Myodes glareolus) from northern and southern populations, originating from low or high population cycle phases, to common garden conditions in large outdoor enclosures. The first experiment focused on the persistence of body traits in autumn-captured overwintering populations. The second experiment focused on population growth and …

In utero behavioral imprinting to predation risk in pups of the bank vole

2020

Abstract In the predator–prey arms race, survival-enhancing adaptive behaviors are essential. Prey can perceive predator presence directly from visual, auditory, or chemical cues. Non-lethal encounters with a predator may trigger prey to produce special body odors, alarm pheromones, informing conspecifics about predation risks. Recent studies suggest that parental exposure to predation risk during reproduction affects offspring behavior cross-generationally. We compared behaviors of bank vole (Myodes glareolus) pups produced by parents exposed to one of three treatments: predator scent from the least weasel (Mustela nivalis nivalis); scent from weasel-exposed voles, i.e., alarm pheromones;…

Bank vole alarm pheromone chemistry and effects in the field

2021

Chemical communication plays an important role in mammalian life history decisions. Animals send and receive information based on body odour secretions. Odour cues provide important social information on identity, kinship, sex, group membership or genetic quality. Recent findings show, that rodents alarm their conspecifics with danger-dependent body odours after encountering a predator. In this study, we aim to identify the chemistry of alarm pheromones (AP) in the bank vole, a common boreal rodent. Furthermore, the vole foraging efficiency under perceived fear was measured in a set of field experiments in large outdoor enclosures. During the analysis of bank vole odour by gas chromatograph…

Environmental radiation alters the gut microbiome of the bank vole Myodes glareolus.

2018

International audience; Gut microbiota composition depends on many factors, although the impact of environmental pollution is largely unknown. We used amplicon sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes to quantify whether anthropogenic radionuclides at Chernobyl (Ukraine) impact the gut microbiome of the bank vole Myodes glareolus. Exposure to elevated levels of environmental radionuclides had no detectable effect on the gut community richness but was associated with an almost twofold increase in the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio. Animals inhabiting uncontaminated areas had remarkably similar gut communities irrespective of their proximity to the nuclear power plant. Hence, samples could be c…

Exposure to environmental radionuclides alters mitochondrial DNA maintenance in a wild rodent

2020

AbstractMitochondria are sensitive to oxidative stress, including that derived from ionizing radiation. To quantify the effects of exposure to environmental radionuclides on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) dynamics in wildlife, bank voles (Myodes glareolus) were collected from the chernobyl exclusion zone (CEZ), where animals are exposed to elevated levels of radionuclides, and from uncontaminated areas within the CEZ and elsewhere in Ukraine. Brains of bank voles from outside the CEZ were characterized by low mtDNA copy number and low mtDNA damage; by contrast, bank voles within the CEZ had high mtDNA copy number and high mtDNA damage, consistent with putative damaging effects of elevated radiat…

Socio-Reproductive Conflicts and the Father’s Curse Dilemma

2018

Evolutionary conflicts between males and females can manifest over sexually antagonistic interactions at loci or over sexually antagonistic interests within a locus. The latter form of conflict, intralocus sexual conflict, arises from sexually antagonistic selection and constrains the fitness of individuals through a phenotypic compromise. These conflicts, and socio-reproductive interactions in general, are commonly mediated by hormones, and thus predictive insights can be gained from studying their mediating effects. Here, we integrate several lines of evidence to describe a novel, hormonally mediated reproductive dilemma that we call the father’s curse, which results from an intralocus co…

Skin and gut microbiomes of a wild mammal respond to different environmental cues

2018

Background Animal skin and gut microbiomes are important components of host fitness. However, the processes that shape the microbiomes of wildlife are poorly understood, particularly with regard to exposure to environmental contaminants. We used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to quantify how exposure to radionuclides impacts the skin and gut microbiota of a small mammal, the bank vole Myodes glareolus, inhabiting areas within and outside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), Ukraine. Results Skin microbiomes of male bank voles were more diverse than females. However, the most pronounced differences in skin microbiomes occurred at a larger spatial scale, with higher alpha diversity in the skin m…