Developmental Effects of Cortisol on the Stress Response and Behaviour in Zebrafish

Date
2015-09-28
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Abstract
The objective of the study was to determine whether maternal stress affects early development in zebrafish (Danio rerio). The hypothesis was that maternal stress will lead to excess cortisol deposition in the embryos, and this will compromise the larval stress response and locomotor activity. Maternal stress and the attendant rise in cortisol levels led to excess cortisol deposition, but only transiently in the embryos. This was kept in check by cortisol-induced stimulation of 11βHSD2, a cortisol-degrading enzyme, in the ovarian follicles. Excess embryo cortisol content disrupted the larval stress response, locomotor activity, and was anxiolytic. These phenotypes corresponded with increased region-specific neurogenesis. Post-hatch elevation in cortisol levels by waterborne exposure, mimicking a stress response, increased locomotor activity but did not impact anxiety behaviour. Overall, maternal stress alters larval stress and behavioural phenotypes, underpinning a distinct developmental effect associated with elevated zygotic cortisol content in zebrafish.
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Animal Physiology
Citation
Best, C. (2015). Developmental Effects of Cortisol on the Stress Response and Behaviour in Zebrafish (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25631