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Rapid neural DNA methylation responses to predation stress in Trinidadian guppies

Fox, Janay1

Published Apr 28, 2025 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.x0k6djhw6

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Abstract

DNA methylation (DNAm) is a well-studied epigenetic mechanism implicated in environmentally induced phenotypes and phenotypic plasticity. However, few studies investigate the time scale of DNAm shifts. Thus, it is uncertain whether DNAm can change on timescales relevant for rapid phenotypic shifts, such as during the expression of short-term behavioural plasticity. DNAm could be especially reactive in the brain, potentially increasing its relevance for behavioural plasticity. Most research investigating neural changes in methylation has been conducted in mammalian systems, on isolated individuals, and using stressors that are less ecologically relevant, reducing their generalizability to other natural systems. We exposed pairs of male and female Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to alarm cue, conspecific skin extract that reliably induces anti-predator behaviour, or a control cue. Whole genome bisulfite sequencing on whole brains at various time points following cue exposure (0.5h, 1h, 4h, 24h, and 72h) allowed us to uncover the timescale of neural DNAm responses. Males and females both showed rapid shifts in DNAm in as little as 0.5 hours. However, males and females differed in the time-course of their responses: both sexes showed a peak in the number of loci showing significant responses at 4 hours but males showed an additional peak at 72 hours. We suggest that this finding could be due to differing longer-term plastic responses between the sexes. This study shows that DNAm can be rapidly induced by an ecologically relevant stressor in fish and suggests that DNA methylation could be involved in short-term behavioural plasticity.