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Rogers FD, Peña CJ, Mallarino R. African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) as a neurobehavioral model for male parental care. Horm Behav 2023; 152:105364. [PMID: 37087766 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
Parental care is diversely demonstrated across the animal kingdom, such that active practitioners and repertoires of parental behavior vary dramatically between and within taxa. For mammals, maternal care is ubiquitous while paternal and alloparental care are rare. The African striped mouse, a rodent species in the family Muridae, demonstrates maternal, paternal, and alloparental care. Because socio-environmental factors can considerably influence the development of their social behavior, including that of paternal and alloparental care, African striped mice are considered socially flexible. Here, we highlight African striped mice as a new model for the neurobiological study of male parental care. We first provide essential background information on the species' natural ecological setting and reproductive behavior, as well as the species-relevant interaction between ecology and reproduction. We then introduce the nature of maternal, paternal, and alloparental care in the species. Lastly, we provide a review of existing developmental and neurobiological perspectives and highlight potential avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Forrest Dylan Rogers
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Washington Rd., Princeton, NJ 08544, United States of America; Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, 119 Lewis Thomas Laboratory, Washington Rd., Princeton, NJ 08544, United States of America.
| | - Catherine Jensen Peña
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Washington Rd., Princeton, NJ 08544, United States of America
| | - Ricardo Mallarino
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, 119 Lewis Thomas Laboratory, Washington Rd., Princeton, NJ 08544, United States of America
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Rimbach R, Pillay N, Schradin C. Prolonged growth during the food-restricted dry season in a small African mammal. J Mammal 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyaa169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Studying how different environmental parameters, such as resource availability and ambient temperature, affect growth rates aids to understand the evolution of different growth strategies. Low levels of food availability restrict growth, and high ambient temperature can constrain growth via trade-offs between body temperature maintenance and heat produced during digestion. We studied growth of African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio), a small mammal living in a seasonally arid habitat. Striped mice are born during spring with high food availability and low ambient temperature, and typically enter the food-restricted dry season before reaching adulthood. We predicted low food availability and high ambient temperature would negatively affect growth. We therefore expected an extended period of slow growth during the long dry season. We repeatedly measured body length of 369 free-living individuals, examined how ambient temperature and food availability influenced growth rate, and seasonal changes in growth rate. In addition, we investigated whether mice (N = 27) born in summer (atypical breeding season) have slower growth rates than those born in spring. Growth rate increased with increasing food availability and decreased with increasing ambient temperature. Individuals born in summer grew slower than those born in spring. Sexes reached asymptotic body length at 258 days (females) and 285 days (males), which is an unusually long growth period compared with other small rodents. As most striped mice live for less than 1 year, this period encompasses the entire life for most individuals, but stops at old age, which could indicate senescence. Our results demonstrate a positive influence of food availability on growth, a relationship mediated by ambient temperature. We conclude that striped mice enter the food-restricted dry season before postnatal growth is terminated, and early exposure to harsh environmental conditions during the long dry season likely explains the prolonged growth period in striped mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Rimbach
- School of Animal, Plant, and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Neville Pillay
- School of Animal, Plant, and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Carsten Schradin
- School of Animal, Plant, and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7178, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Département Écologie, Physiologie et Éthologie, 23, rue Becquerel, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
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Criscuolo F, Pillay N, Zahn S, Schradin C. Seasonal variation in telomere dynamics in African striped mice. Oecologia 2020; 194:609-620. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04801-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Hennin HL, Legagneux P, Gilchrist HG, Bêty J, McMurtry JP, Love OP. Plasma mammalian leptin analogue predicts reproductive phenology, but not reproductive output in a capital-income breeding seaduck. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:1512-1522. [PMID: 30805178 PMCID: PMC6374671 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2018] [Revised: 12/01/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To invest in energetically demanding life history stages, individuals require a substantial amount of resources. Physiological traits, particularly those related to energetics, can be useful for examining variation in life history decisions and trade-offs because they result from individual responses to environmental variation. Leptin is a protein hormone found in mammals that is proportional to the amount of endogenous fat stores within an individual. Recently, researchers have confirmed that a mammalian leptin analogue (MLA), based on the mammalian sequence of leptin, is present with associated receptors and proteins in avian species, with an inhibitory effect on foraging and body mass gain at high circulating levels. While MLA has been both quantified and manipulated in avian species, little is currently known regarding whether plasma MLA in wild-living species and individuals is associated with key reproductive decisions. We quantified plasma MLA in wild, Arctic-nesting female common eiders (Somateria mollissima) at arrival on the breeding grounds and followed them to determine subsequent breeding propensity, and reproductive phenology, investment, and success. Common eiders are capital-income breeding birds that require the accumulation of substantial fat stores to initiate laying and successfully complete incubation. We found that females with lower plasma MLA initiated breeding earlier and in a shorter period of time. However, we found no links between plasma MLA levels and breeding propensity, clutch size, or reproductive success. Although little is still known about plasma MLA, based on these results and its role in influencing foraging behaviors and condition gain, plasma MLA appears to be closely linked to reproductive timing and is therefore likely to underlie trade-offs surrounding life history decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly L. Hennin
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - Pierre Legagneux
- CNRS – Centre d'Etudes Biologique de ChizéVilliers‐en‐boisFrance
- Département de biologie et Centre d'etudes nordiquesUniversité LavalQuébec CityQuebecCanada
| | - H. Grant Gilchrist
- Environment and Climate Change CanadaNational Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton UniversityOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Joël Bêty
- Départment de Biologie, chimie et géographie and Centre d’études nordiquesUniversité du Québec à RimouskiRimouskiQuebecCanada
| | - John P. McMurtry
- Southern Plains Agricultural Research CenterUnited States Department of AgricultureCollege StationTexas
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
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Abstract
Mallarino et al. introduce the African striped mouse, which is being used in a number of fields of research, including animal behavior, evolutionary developmental biology, and chronobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Mallarino
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - Neville Pillay
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Hopi E Hoekstra
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Carsten Schradin
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000 Strasbourg, France.
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Donald JA, Hamid NKA, McLeod JL. The role of leptin and ghrelin in appetite regulation in the Australian Spinifex hopping mouse, Notomys alexis, during long-term water deprivation. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2017; 244:201-208. [PMID: 27102941 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2015] [Revised: 04/06/2016] [Accepted: 04/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Water deprivation of the Spinifex hopping mouse, Notomys alexis, induced a biphasic pattern of food intake with an initial hypophagia that was followed by an increased, and then sustained food intake. The mice lost approximately 20% of their body mass and there was a loss of white adipose tissue. Stomach ghrelin mRNA was significantly higher at day 2 of water deprivation but then returned to the same levels as water-replete (day 0) mice for the duration of the experiment. Plasma ghrelin was unaffected by water deprivation except at day 10 where it was significantly increased. Plasma leptin levels decreased at day 2 and day 5 of water deprivation, and then increased significantly by the end of the water deprivation period. Water deprivation caused a significant decrease in skeletal muscle leptin mRNA expression at days 2 and 5, but then it returned to day 0 levels by day 29. In the hypothalamus, water deprivation caused a significant up-regulation in both ghrelin and neuropeptide Y mRNA expression, respectively. In contrast, hypothalamic GHSR1a mRNA expression was significantly down-regulated. A significant increase in LepRb mRNA expression was observed at days 17 and 29 of water deprivation. This study demonstrated that the sustained food intake in N. alexis during water deprivation was uncoupled from peripheral appetite-regulating signals, and that the hypothalamus appears to play an important role in regulating food intake; this may contribute to the maintenance of fluid balance in the absence of free water.
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Affiliation(s)
- John A Donald
- Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environmental, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia.
| | - Noor Khalidah Abdul Hamid
- Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environmental, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia; Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Biological Sciences, Penang, Malaysia
| | - Janet L McLeod
- Deakin University, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
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Rimbach R, Pillay N, Schradin C. Both thyroid hormone levels and resting metabolic rate decrease in African striped mice when food availability decreases. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 220:837-843. [PMID: 27994044 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.151449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
In response to variation in food availability and ambient temperature (Ta), many animals show seasonal adaptations in their physiology. Laboratory studies showed that thyroid hormones are involved in the regulation of metabolism, and their regulatory function is especially important when the energy balance of an individual is compromised. However, little is known about the relationship between thyroid hormones and metabolism in free-living animals and animals inhabiting seasonal environments. Here, we studied seasonal changes in triiodothyronine (T3) levels, resting metabolic rate (RMR) and two physiological markers of energy balance (blood glucose and ketone bodies) in 61 free-living African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) that live in an semi-arid environment with food shortage during the dry season. We predicted a positive relationship between T3 levels and RMR. Further, we predicted higher T3 levels, blood glucose levels and RMR, but lower ketone body concentrations, during the moist season when food availability is high compared with summer when food availability is low. RMR and T3 levels were negatively related in the moist season but not in the dry season. Both RMR and T3 levels were higher in the moist than in the dry season, and T3 levels increased with increasing food availability. In the dry season, blood glucose levels were lower but ketone body concentrations were higher, indicating a change in substrate use. Seasonal adjustments in RMR and T3 levels permit a reduction of energy expenditure when food is scarce, and reflect an adaptive response to reduced food availability in the dry season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Rimbach
- University of the Witwatersrand, School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Neville Pillay
- University of the Witwatersrand, School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Carsten Schradin
- University of the Witwatersrand, School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.,IPHC, UNISTRA, CNRS, 23 rue du Loess, Strasbourg 67200, France
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Rimbach R, Willigenburg R, Schoepf I, Yuen CH, Pillay N, Schradin C. Young But Not Old Adult African Striped Mice Reduce Their Activity in the Dry Season When Food Availability is Low. Ethology 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Rimbach
- School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Remco Willigenburg
- School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
- HAS Den Bosch; University of Applied Sciences; Den Bosch The Netherlands
| | - Ivana Schoepf
- School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Chi Hang Yuen
- School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Neville Pillay
- School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Carsten Schradin
- School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
- IPHC; UNISTRA; CNRS; Strasbourg France
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Schoepf I, Pillay N, Schradin C. The pathophysiology of survival in harsh environments. J Comp Physiol B 2016; 187:183-201. [DOI: 10.1007/s00360-016-1020-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2016] [Revised: 06/16/2016] [Accepted: 07/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Johansson M, Morgenroth D, Einarsdottir IE, Gong N, Björnsson BT. Energy stores, lipid mobilization and leptin endocrinology of rainbow trout. J Comp Physiol B 2016; 186:759-73. [PMID: 27083432 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-016-0988-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2015] [Revised: 02/04/2016] [Accepted: 04/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The physiological role of leptin in fish is not fully elucidated. In the present study, the involvement of the leptin system in lipid deposition and mobilization in rainbow trout during feeding and 1, 2 and 4 weeks of fasting was investigated in two lines of rainbow trout with different muscle and visceral adiposity: a fat line (FL) with high total energy reserves, high muscle adiposity, but low visceral adiposity and a lean line (LL) with lower total energy reserves and lower muscle adiposity, but higher visceral adiposity. During 4 weeks of fasting, muscle lipids decreased by 63 % in the FL fish, while no such energy mobilization from muscle occurred in the LL fish. On the other hand, lipid stores in liver and visceral adipose tissue was utilized to a similar extent by the two fish lines during fasting. Under normal feeding conditions, plasma leptin levels were higher in the LL than the FL fish, suggesting a possible contribution of visceral adipocytes to plasma leptin levels. Plasma leptin-binding protein levels did not differ between the lines and were not affected by fasting. After 4 weeks of fasting, the long leptin receptor and the leptin-binding protein isoforms 1 and 3 muscle expression increased in the LL fish, as well as hepatic expression of leptin A1 and the two binding protein isoforms. These responses were not seen in the FL fish. The data suggest that the Lep system in rainbow trout is involved in regulation of energy stores and their mobilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Johansson
- Fish Endocrinology Laboratory, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Daniel Morgenroth
- Fish Endocrinology Laboratory, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ingibjörg Eir Einarsdottir
- Fish Endocrinology Laboratory, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ningping Gong
- Fish Endocrinology Laboratory, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Björn Thrandur Björnsson
- Fish Endocrinology Laboratory, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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