1
|
Xu JH, Xu XY, Huang XY, Chen KX, Wen H, Li M, Liu JS. Long-term fasting induced basal thermogenesis flexibility in female Japanese quails. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2024; 292:111611. [PMID: 38432457 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Male Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) have been found to exhibit a three-phase metabolic change when subjected to prolonged fasting, during which basal thermogenesis is significantly reduced. A study had shown that there is a significant difference in the body temperature between male and female Japanese quails. However, whether female Japanese quails also show the same characteristic three-phase metabolic change during prolonged fasting and the underlying thermogenesis mechanisms associated with such changes are still unclear. In this study, female Japanese quails were subjected to prolonged starvation, and the body mass, basal metabolic rate (BMR), body temperature, mass of tissues and organs, body fat content, the state-4 respiration (S4R) and cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) activity in the muscle and liver of these birds were measured to determine the status of metabolic changes triggered by the starvation. In addition, the levels of glucose, triglyceride (TG) and uric acid, and thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) in the serum and the mRNA levels of myostatin (MSTN) and avian uncoupling protein (av-UCP) in the muscle were also measured. The results revealed the existence of a three-phase stage similar to that found in male Japanese quails undergoing prolonged starvation. Fasting resulted in significantly lower body mass, BMR, body temperature, tissues masses and most organs masses, as well as S4R and CCO activity in the muscle and liver. The mRNA level of av-UCP decreased during fasting, while that of MSTN increased but only during Phase I and II and decreased significantly during Phase III. Fasting also significantly lowered the T3 level and the ratio of T3/T4 in the serum. These results indicated that female Japanese quails showed an adaptive response in basal thermogenesis at multiple hierarchical levels, from organismal to biochemical, enzyme and cellular level, gene and endocrine levels and this integrated adjustment could be a part of the adaptation used by female quails to survive long-term fasting.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jie-Heng Xu
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University Chashan University Town, Wenzhou 325035, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Xin-Yu Xu
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University Chashan University Town, Wenzhou 325035, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Xing-Yu Huang
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University Chashan University Town, Wenzhou 325035, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Ke-Xin Chen
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University Chashan University Town, Wenzhou 325035, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China
| | - He Wen
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University Chashan University Town, Wenzhou 325035, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Ming Li
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University Chashan University Town, Wenzhou 325035, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China.
| | - Jin-Song Liu
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University Chashan University Town, Wenzhou 325035, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Lynn SE, Kern MD, Cagwin N, Will A, Kitaysky A. Effects of cooling on thyroid hormone secretion and growth of eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) nestlings. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2024; 347:114421. [PMID: 38081466 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2023.114421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
Achieving endothermic homeothermy is a critical aspect of avian development. In pre-homeothermic altricial nestlings, variation in parental brooding behavior results in variable exposure of nestlings to cooling, with consequences for the developing endocrine system. Nestlings facing repeated cooling challenges may benefit from upregulation of thyroid hormone secretion, allowing for earlier onset of thermoregulatory capability to mitigate the potentially negative effects of exposure to non-optimal temperatures during development. We examined the effects of (1) a single cooling challenge on thyroid hormone secretion in pre-homeothermic nestlings, and (2) repeated cooling challenges prior to the onset of homeothermy on nestling growth and thyroid hormone secretion prior to fledging. We found that pre-homeothermic eastern bluebird nestlings exposed to a single cooling challenge increased circulating triiodothyronine (T3), demonstrating that the thyroid system can be activated by cooling early in life. However, we found no consequences of repeated cooling during the first week of life on nestling growth or baseline T3 levels prior to fledging. This work addresses how the nestling hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis responds to acute cooling challenges prior to the development of endothermic homeothermy; future work will confirm whether such responses allow nestlings to hasten the onset of physiological thermoregulation when conditions demand it.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sharon E Lynn
- The College of Wooster, Department of Biology, 931 College Mall, Wooster, OH 44691, United States.
| | - Michael D Kern
- The College of Wooster, Department of Biology, 931 College Mall, Wooster, OH 44691, United States
| | - Nathan Cagwin
- University of Alaska Fairbanks, Institute of Arctic Biology, Department of Biology & Wildlife, Fairbanks, AK 99708, United States
| | - Alexis Will
- University of Alaska Fairbanks, Institute of Arctic Biology, Department of Biology & Wildlife, Fairbanks, AK 99708, United States; World Wildlife Fund, US Arctic Program, 810 N Street, Anchorage, AK 99501, United States
| | - Alexander Kitaysky
- University of Alaska Fairbanks, Institute of Arctic Biology, Department of Biology & Wildlife, Fairbanks, AK 99708, United States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Nabi G, Xing D, Sun Y, Zhang Q, Li M, Jiang C, Ahmad IM, Wingfield JC, Wu Y, Li D. Coping with extremes: High-altitude sparrows enhance metabolic and thermogenic capacities in the pectoralis muscle and suppress in the liver relative to their lowland counterparts. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2021; 313:113890. [PMID: 34453929 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2021.113890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Revised: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Animals living at high altitudes are challenged by the extreme environmental conditions of cold temperature and hypobaric hypoxia. It is not well understood how high-altitude birds enhance the capacity of metabolic thermogenesis and allocate metabolic capacity in different organs to maximize survival in extreme conditions of a cold winter. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is the largest and highest plateau globally, offering a natural laboratory for investigating coping mechanisms of organisms inhabiting extreme environments. To understand the adaptive strategies in the morphology and physiology of small songbirds on the QTP, we compared plasma triiodothyronine (T3), pectoralis muscle mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COX) and state IV capacities, the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator α (PGC-1α), adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT), uncoupling protein (UCP), and adenosine monophosphate-dependent kinase (AMPK) α1 mRNA in the pectoralis and liver of Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus) from high-altitude (3,230 m), medium-altitude (1400 m), and low-altitude (80 m) regions. Our results showed that high-altitude sparrows had greater body masses, longer wings and tarsometatarsi, but comparable bill lengths relative to medium- and low-altitude individuals. High-altitude sparrows had higher plasma T3 levels and pectoralis muscle mitochondrial COX capacities than their lowland counterparts. They also upregulated the pectoralis muscle mRNA expression of UCP, PGC-1α, and ANT proteins relative to low-altitude sparrows. Unlike pectoralis, high-altitude sparrows significantly down-regulated hepatic AMPKα1 and ANT protein expression as compared with their lowland counterparts. Our results contribute to understanding the morphological, biochemical, and molecular adaptations in free-living birds to cope with the cold seasons in the extreme environment of the QTP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ghulam Nabi
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Danning Xing
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Yanfeng Sun
- Ocean College, Hebei Agricultural University, Qinhuangdao, China
| | - Qian Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Mo Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Chuan Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Ibrahim M Ahmad
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - John C Wingfield
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Yuefeng Wu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Dongming Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Meaney KM, Peacock DE, Taggart D, Smith J. Rapid colonisation, breeding and successful recruitment of eastern barn owls (Tyto alba delicatula) using a customised wooden nest box in remnant mallee cropping areas of southern Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. WILDLIFE RESEARCH 2021. [DOI: 10.1071/wr20021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
ContextThe introduced house mouse (Mus domesticus) causes significant economic damage to Australia’s agricultural enterprises. As part of the Marna Banggara Rewilding Project on the southern Yorke Peninsula (SYP), the present study focused on the eastern barn owl (Tyto alba delicatula) as a potential bio-controller of mice, by providing nesting spaces where natural hollows are limited.
AimsTo design an appropriate pole-mounted wooden nest box, and to enhance barn-owl-breeding and house-mouse-hunting capacity on farmland adjacent to remnant native vegetation.
MethodsA prototype nest box was collaboratively designed with a nest box manufacturer using data from previous barn owl studies and anecdotal reports. Eleven pole-mounted wooden boxes with platforms were installed at distances >1.4km apart on properties near Warooka, southern Yorke Peninsula (SYP), and monitored over a 6-month period using external trail cameras.
Key resultsOf the 11 nest boxes installed, 55 percent were colonised within a month after establishment, and 82 percent were colonised within 7 months. Occupied nest boxes were actively used by paired owls for mating, breeding and rearing of chicks, which resulted in up to 35 fledgling owlets.
ConclusionsThe nest box design successfully supported eastern barn owl colonisation and reproduction on the SYP. The inclusion of the platform not only provided easy, minimally invasive monitoring of barn owl activity and prey intake by researchers, but also increased usable space for barn owl behaviours, such as copulation and wing flapping.
ImplicationsThe important nest box design elements featured in this paper, such as the platform, high entrance hole, predator-proof pole and rear door access, can be implemented in barn owl conservation, research and on farms where alternative nesting sites are limited.
Collapse
|
5
|
Shiue I, Perkins DR, Bearman N. Inverted U-shape relationships of the weather as biometeorological and hospital admissions due to carcinoma in situ and benign neoplasm in Germany in 2009-2011. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015; 22:9378-9399. [PMID: 25874423 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-4095-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2014] [Accepted: 01/08/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We aimed to understand the relationships of the weather as biometeorological and hospital admissions due to carcinoma in situ and benign neoplasms, which have been less paid attention to, in a national setting in recent years. This is an ecological study. Ten percent of daily hospital admissions from the included hospitals (n = 1618) across Germany that were available between 1 January, 2009 and 31 December, 2011 (n = 5,235,600) were extracted from Statistisches Bundesamt, Germany. We identified D00-D48 in situ neoplasms, benign neoplasms and neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behaviour by International Classification of Diseases version 10 as the study outcomes. Daily weather data from 64 weather stations that covered 13 German states including air temperature, humidity, wind speed, cloud cover, radiation flux and vapour pressure were obtained and generated into physiologically equivalent temperature (PET). For most subtypes, peaks of admissions were observed in spring and late autumn. There could be four groups of phenomenon among these admissions. To be specific, D06, D16, D21, D24-25, D35 and D39 peaked when PET was at 0 °C. D46 peaked when PET was at 5-10 °C. D03, D04 and D33 had linear relationships. Other admissions peaked when PET was between 0 and 5 °C. All admissions were in common with a drop when PET reached 10 °C or higher. More medical resources could have been needed on days when PETs were at 0-10 °C than on other days. Adaptation to such weather change for medical professionals and the general public would seem to be imperative.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ivy Shiue
- School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure & Society, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, Scotland, UK,
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Rey B, Roussel D, Romestaing C, Belouze M, Rouanet JL, Desplanches D, Sibille B, Servais S, Duchamp C. Up-regulation of avian uncoupling protein in cold-acclimated and hyperthyroid ducklings prevents reactive oxygen species production by skeletal muscle mitochondria. BMC PHYSIOLOGY 2010; 10:5. [PMID: 20426850 PMCID: PMC2867930 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6793-10-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2009] [Accepted: 04/28/2010] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Background Although identified in several bird species, the biological role of the avian homolog of mammalian uncoupling proteins (avUCP) remains extensively debated. In the present study, the functional properties of isolated mitochondria were examined in physiological or pharmacological situations that induce large changes in avUCP expression in duckling skeletal muscle. Results The abundance of avUCP mRNA, as detected by RT-PCR in gastrocnemius muscle but not in the liver, was markedly increased by cold acclimation (CA) or pharmacological hyperthyroidism but was down-regulated by hypothyroidism. Activators of UCPs, such as superoxide with low doses of fatty acids, stimulated a GDP-sensitive proton conductance across the inner membrane of muscle mitochondria from CA or hyperthyroid ducklings. The stimulation was much weaker in controls and not observed in hypothyroid ducklings or in any liver mitochondrial preparations. The production of endogenous mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) was much lower in muscle mitochondria from CA and hyperthyroid ducklings than in the control or hypothyroid groups. The addition of GDP markedly increased the mitochondrial ROS production of CA or hyperthyroid birds up to, or above, the level of control or hypothyroid ducklings. Differences in ROS production among groups could not be attributed to changes in antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase or glutathione peroxidase). Conclusion This work provides the first functional in vitro evidence that avian UCP regulates mitochondrial ROS production in situations of enhanced metabolic activity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Rey
- Université de Lyon, F-69000, Lyon; Laboratoire de Physiologie Intégrative, Cellulaire et Moléculaire, CNRS - UMR 5123 Université Lyon 1, 43 Bvd 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|