10.5061/DRYAD.QRFJ6Q5GG
Sadowska, Julita
0000-0003-1457-5254
University of Białystok
Larger guts and faster growth in mice selected for high basal metabolic rate
Dryad
dataset
2021
2021-10-24T00:00:00Z
2021-10-24T00:00:00Z
en
161816 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Postnatal growth in birds and mammals is the time of highest vulnerability
and relatively high energy demands and therefore shapes the organisms
future outcomes. Several different factors might impose limitations on
growth in juveniles, one of them being the efficiency of the digestive
process and size of the gastrointestinal tract. We tested the gut
size-growth rate relationship using a unique experimental model - mice
from a selection experiment designed to produce two lines with divergent
levels of basal metabolic rate (BMR): the high BMR (H-BMR) and low BMR
line type (L-BMR). These lines differ not only with respect to BMR, but
also correlated traits—internal organ size and food intake. Applying a
cross-fostering design and a thermoregulatory burden imposed by shaving
the mothers, demonstrated that the mass of intestine strongly affected the
growth rate, with the H-BMR pups having larger intestines and growing
fastest, and reduced growth rate of pups of both lines nursed by shaved
L-BMR mothers. Our study also provides a functional link between high
growth rate of neonates and high BMR of adults, partly reflecting
metabolic costs of maintenance of their guts.