Photoperiod affects daily torpor and tissue fatty acid composition in deer mice.
Naturwissenschaften
; 94(4): 319-25, 2007 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17160415
ABSTRACT
Photoperiod and dietary lipids both influence thermal physiology and the pattern of torpor of heterothermic mammals. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that photoperiod-induced physiological changes are linked to differences in tissue fatty acid composition of deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus ( approximately 18-g body mass). Deer mice were acclimated for >8 weeks to one of three photoperiods (LD, light/dark) LD 816 (short photoperiod), LD 1212 (equinox photoperiod), and LD 168 (long photoperiod). Deer mice under short and equinox photoperiods showed a greater occurrence of torpor than those under long photoperiods (71, 70, and 14%, respectively). The duration of torpor bouts was longest in deer mice under short photoperiod (9.3 +/- 2.6 h), intermediate under equinox photoperiod (5.1 +/- 0.3 h), and shortest under long photoperiod (3.7 +/- 0.6 h). Physiological differences in torpor use were associated with significant alterations of fatty acid composition in approximately 50% of the major fatty acids from leg muscle total lipids, whereas white adipose tissue fatty acid composition showed fewer changes. Our results provide the first evidence that physiological changes due to photoperiod exposure do result in changes in lipid composition in the muscle tissue of deer mice and suggest that these may play a role in survival of low body temperature and metabolic rate during torpor, thus, enhancing favourable energy balance over the course of the winter.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Comportamento Animal
/
Ciclos de Atividade
/
Peromyscus
/
Fotoperíodo
/
Ácidos Graxos
Limite:
Animals
País como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2007
Tipo de documento:
Article