子代布氏田鼠对母体暴露捕食者气味应激的行为和生理响应

母体效应是动物进化的主要动力和种群调节的主要因素。捕食者气味通过母体效应发挥作用，但对其作用格局和发生机制尚需深入研究。本项目采用行为学、生理学和分子生物学相结合的方法，从个体-行为-生理-基因不同层次研究捕食者气味对布氏田鼠母体效应的影响及其作用机制。研究母体分别在幼体期、成体期、怀孕期和哺乳期暴露不同气味对其F1代和F2代生长、行为、激素及应激基因表达的影响，验证母体捕食者气味应激的不匹配假说；研究母体不同时期不同气味应激后，其F1代和F2再次暴露捕食者气味应激时的行为学和生理学变化，验证母体捕食者气味应激的累计应激假说；比较母体不同时期暴露不同气味后子代生长、行为和生理的变化，验证母体捕食者气味应激的关键时期假说；研究子代c-fos、crhr2和crhr2基因甲基化水平的变化，从表观遗传学水平探讨母体效应发生作用的调节机制，为揭示捕食者与猎物的协同进化和布氏田鼠的危害防治提供依据。

Maternal effect plays an important role in the animal evolutional process and is one of main factors regulating population number. Meanwhile the predator’s odor has important function to the growth, behavior and physiology of the prey through the maternal effect, but it is debatable what the patterns and mechanism of maternal effect are. By using the ethological, physiological and molecular methods, this project is to investigate the influences of the maternal effect on the individual, behavioral, hormonal, and molecular levels of the stress genes and the nerves of brain region for offspring of brandt's voles when their mothers are exposed different species odor in different stages of juvenile, adult, pregnancy and lactation, to test the mismatch hypothesis, and discuss the maternal effect of predator’s odor on the offspring. The project also investigates the changes of behavior, hormone, and level of the stress genes in different brain region for the offspring when they are exposed to the different species odor after their mother are exposed the different species odors for four stages, to test the cumulative stress hypothesis, and discuss the adaptive strategy of the offspring to the predator’s odor. Then the project compares the difference of behavior, hormone, and level of the stress genes in offspring among the four stages of the mother exposing different species odor in different stages of juvenile, adult, pregnancy and lactation, to test the key stage stress hypothesis, and discuss the survival strategy of the offspring to the predator’s odor. Finally, the project measures the DNA methylation modification of c-fos、crhr1 and crhr2 in the hypothalamusand and hypophysis of offspring brandt's vole after their mother are exposed the different species odors for four stages, and discuss the regulation mechanism of maternal effect from epigenetics level. From above, the project will supply the foundational data for understanding the coevolution between the prey and predator and produce the new methods and ideas for controlling the damage of the brandt's vole.