Meeting Abstract
Mitochondria are the powerhouse of animal cells. They produce through oxidative phosphorylation more than 90% of the cellular energy (ATP) required for organism’s growth, reproduction and maintenance. Yet, our understanding of the factors modulating mitochondrial function is still limited, and for instance we have few information on the importance of the prenatal environment in determining mitochondrial function. The pre-natal environment conveys various information that might be used by the developing organism to adjust its phenotype to the current environmental conditions. Consequently, we might expect that pre-natal environmental conditions will modulate mitochondrial function. To test this hypothesis, we used Japanese quail as a model, and tested the influence of two types of variations in the pre-natal environmental conditions. First, we manipulated the absolute incubation temperature (control vs. low and high) and the stability of incubation temperature (stable vs. unstable) to mimic variations of pre-natal development controlled by parental investment into incubation. Second, we used eggs from selection lines selected either for a high or a low maternal investment measured through egg size to mimic variations of pre-natal development controlled by parental investment into egg production. We evaluated mitochondrial function using standard high-resolution respirometry protocols in both brain and heart samples of embryos. In addition, using individuals from the incubation temperature experiment, we conducted the first longitudinal monitoring of mitochondrial function using red blood cells of the same individuals sampled both at the chick stage and at adulthood. In this talk, I will present the first results of these two experiments and try to shed some light on the importance of pre-natal environmental conditions in influencing mitochondrial function.
