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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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.
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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.
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Wang Y, Shan S, Zhang H, Dong B, Zheng W, Liu J. Physiological and Biochemical Thermoregulatory Responses in Male Chinese Hwameis to Seasonal Acclimatization: Phenotypic Flexibility in a Small Passerine. Zool Stud 2019; 58:e6. [PMID: 31966307 PMCID: PMC6759861 DOI: 10.6620/zs.2019.58-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Many small birds living in regions with seasonal fluctuations and ambient temperatures typically respond to cold by increasing metabolic thermogenesis, internal organ mass and the oxidative capacity of certain tissues. In this study, we investigated seasonal adjustments in body mass, resting metabolic rate (RMR), evaporative water loss (EWL), the mass of selected internal organs, and two indicators of cellular aerobic respiration (mitochondrial state-4 respiration and cytochrome c oxidase activity) in Chinese hwamei (Garrulax canorus) that had been captured in summer or winter from Wenzhou, China. RMR and EWL were higher in winter than in summer. State-4 respiration in the heart, liver, kidneys and pectoral muscle, as well as cytochrome c oxidase activity in the liver, kidneys and pectoral muscle were also higher in winter than summer. In addition, there was a positive correlation between RMR and EWL, and between RMR and indicators of cellular metabolic activity in the heart, liver, kidneys and pectoral muscle. This phenotypic flexibility in physiological and biochemical thermoregulatory responses may be important to the hwamei's ability to survive the unpredictable, periodic, cold temperatures commonly experienced in Wenzhou in winter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Wang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou
University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
| | - Shuangshuang Shan
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou
University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
| | - Haodi Zhang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou
University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
| | - Beibei Dong
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou
University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
| | - Weihong Zheng
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou
University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Subtropical Water
Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou 325035,
China
| | - Jinsong Liu
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou
University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Subtropical Water
Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou 325035,
China
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Hu SN, Zhu YY, Lin L, Zheng WH, Liu JS. Temperature and photoperiod as environmental cues affect body mass and thermoregulation in Chinese bulbuls, Pycnonotus sinensis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 220:844-855. [PMID: 28082615 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.143842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Accepted: 12/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Seasonal changes in temperature and photoperiod are important environmental cues used by small birds to adjust their body mass (Mb) and thermogenesis. However, the relative importance of these cues with respect to seasonal adjustments in Mb and thermogenesis is difficult to distinguish. In particular, the effects of temperature and photoperiod on energy metabolism and thermoregulation are not well known in many passerines. To address this problem, we measured the effects of temperature and photoperiod on Mb, energy intake, resting metabolic rate (RMR), organ mass and physiological and biochemical markers of metabolic activity in the Chinese bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis). Groups of Chinese bulbuls were acclimated in a laboratory to the following conditions: (1) warm and long photoperiod, (2) warm and short photoperiod, (3) cold and long photoperiod, and (4) cold and short photoperiod, for 4 weeks. The results indicate that Chinese bulbuls exhibit adaptive physiological regulation when exposed to different temperatures and photoperiods. Mb, RMR, gross energy intake and digestible energy intake were higher in cold-acclimated than in warm-acclimated bulbuls, and in the short photoperiod than in the long photoperiod. The resultant flexibility in energy intake and RMR allows Chinese bulbuls exposed to different temperatures and photoperiods to adjust their energy balance and thermogenesis accordingly. Cold-acclimated birds had heightened state-4 respiration and cytochrome c oxidase activity in their liver and muscle tissue compared with warm-acclimated birds indicating the cellular mechanisms underlying their adaptive thermogenesis. Temperature appears to be a primary cue for adjusting energy budget and thermogenic ability in Chinese bulbuls; photoperiod appears to intensify temperature-induced changes in energy metabolism and thermoregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi-Nan Hu
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Ying-Yang Zhu
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Lin Lin
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Wei-Hong Zheng
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China.,Department of Biology, Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Subtropical Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Jin-Song Liu
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China .,Department of Biology, Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Subtropical Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou 325035, China
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