Hypoxia causes transgenerational impairments in reproduction of fish

Simon Yuan Wang, Karen Lau, Keng-Po Lai, Jiang-Wen Zhang, Anna Chung-Kwan Tse, Jing-Woei Li, Yin Tong, Ting-Fung Chan, Chris Kong-Chu Wong, Jill Man-Ying Chiu, Doris Wai-Ting Au, Alice Sze-Tsai Wong, Richard Yuen-Chong Kong and Rudolf Shiu-Sun Wu ()
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Simon Yuan Wang: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
Karen Lau: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
Keng-Po Lai: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
Jiang-Wen Zhang: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
Anna Chung-Kwan Tse: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
Jing-Woei Li: Hong Kong Bioinformatics Centre, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Yin Tong: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
Ting-Fung Chan: Hong Kong Bioinformatics Centre, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Chris Kong-Chu Wong: Hong Kong Baptist University
Jill Man-Ying Chiu: Hong Kong Baptist University
Doris Wai-Ting Au: City University of Hong Kong
Alice Sze-Tsai Wong: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
Richard Yuen-Chong Kong: City University of Hong Kong
Rudolf Shiu-Sun Wu: State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Hypoxia is amongst the most widespread and pressing problems in aquatic environments. Here we demonstrate that fish (Oryzias melastigma) exposed to hypoxia show reproductive impairments (retarded gonad development, decrease in sperm count and sperm motility) in F1 and F2 generations despite these progenies (and their germ cells) having never been exposed to hypoxia. We further show that the observed transgenerational reproductive impairments are associated with a differential methylation pattern of specific genes in sperm of both F0 and F2 coupled with relevant transcriptomic and proteomic alterations, which may impair spermatogenesis. The discovered transgenerational and epigenetic effects suggest that hypoxia might pose a dramatic and long-lasting threat to the sustainability of fish populations. Because the genes regulating spermatogenesis and epigenetic modifications are highly conserved among vertebrates, these results may also shed light on the potential transgenerational effects of hypoxia on other vertebrates, including humans.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12114

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