Final Report Summary - DGHOST (Ghosts in parthenogenetic daughters - epigenetic effects on clonal organisms can reveal the degree of phenotypic plasticity due to biotic cues)
The second major goal of dGhost is to discover the epigenetic mechanism of male formation in Daphnia, by using a novel approach, where epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted by cancer drugs. Unlike most animals where sex is determined genetically, often by the inheritance of sex chromosomes, sex in Daphnia is determined by environmental factors, which cue females to switch from producing genetically identical daughters to producing genetically identical sons. dGhost proposes to develop a mechanistic understanding of how biotic stress can be propagated via epigenetics to produce functional males. Understanding this phenomenon can potentially have a future commercial implication for XXI century ecotoxicological tests and environmental health management, where methylation signatures can signal endocrine disruptors, or other toxins in the environment that can act upon the epigenome, thereby serving as an early warning system for human health. In this project, both methylation and histone modification were hypothesized to have an effect on Daphnia sex determination. Butyrate is a well-characterized metabolite that modulates the compaction of DNA. Dr Wojewodzic’s experiments concluded that this compound had no effect on the sex ratio of Daphnia embryos. However two cancer drugs that act on methylotransferases activity were also tested for their effects on shifting the sex ratio of Daphnia embryos. These have shown effects on the sex of Daphnia, both directly and indirectly. These observations were partly confirmed by confocal microscopic studies on early embroys.
This second project had attracted three EU sponsored technicians (Leonardo da Vinci and Erasmus Plus Program), two EU sponsored Spanish Student and three Masters students that were registered within the School of Biosciences. Dr Wojewodzic, together with Marie Skłodowska Curie fellowship also received “TOPP financiering grant” from Norwegian Research Council to compensate for the differences in his salary level were he had choosen to stay in Norway. He acknowledges the contributions of all agencies. The project should greatly influence Dr Wojewodzic’s scientific career upon completion of the work and the publications reporting on its discoveries, giving him the opportunity to apply for further EU grants (i.e. ERC establishment) for launching his own research group in Norway that will focus on Environmental Epigenetics.