Cargando…

Breeding and hibernation of captive meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius)

Hibernating mammals exhibit unique metabolic and physiological phenotypes that have potential applications in medicine or spaceflight, yet our understanding of the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of hibernation is limited. The meadow jumping mouse, a small North American hibernator, exhibits...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Brem, Ethan A., McNulty, Alyssa D., Israelsen, William J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8109813/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33970917
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240706
_version_ 1783690239103991808
author Brem, Ethan A.
McNulty, Alyssa D.
Israelsen, William J.
author_facet Brem, Ethan A.
McNulty, Alyssa D.
Israelsen, William J.
author_sort Brem, Ethan A.
collection PubMed
description Hibernating mammals exhibit unique metabolic and physiological phenotypes that have potential applications in medicine or spaceflight, yet our understanding of the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of hibernation is limited. The meadow jumping mouse, a small North American hibernator, exhibits traits–including a short generation time–that would facilitate genetic approaches to hibernation research. Here we report the collection, captive breeding, and laboratory hibernation of meadow jumping mice. Captive breeders in our colony produced a statistically significant excess of male offspring and a large number of all-male and all-female litters. We confirmed that short photoperiod induced pre-hibernation fattening, and cold ambient temperature facilitated entry into hibernation. During pre-hibernation fattening, food consumption exhibited non-linear dependence on both body mass and temperature, such that food consumption was greatest in the heaviest animals at the coldest temperatures. Meadow jumping mice exhibited a strong circadian rhythm of nightly activity that was disrupted during the hibernation interval. We conclude that it is possible to study hibernation phenotypes using captive-bred meadow jumping mice in a laboratory setting.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8109813
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher Public Library of Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-81098132021-05-21 Breeding and hibernation of captive meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius) Brem, Ethan A. McNulty, Alyssa D. Israelsen, William J. PLoS One Research Article Hibernating mammals exhibit unique metabolic and physiological phenotypes that have potential applications in medicine or spaceflight, yet our understanding of the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of hibernation is limited. The meadow jumping mouse, a small North American hibernator, exhibits traits–including a short generation time–that would facilitate genetic approaches to hibernation research. Here we report the collection, captive breeding, and laboratory hibernation of meadow jumping mice. Captive breeders in our colony produced a statistically significant excess of male offspring and a large number of all-male and all-female litters. We confirmed that short photoperiod induced pre-hibernation fattening, and cold ambient temperature facilitated entry into hibernation. During pre-hibernation fattening, food consumption exhibited non-linear dependence on both body mass and temperature, such that food consumption was greatest in the heaviest animals at the coldest temperatures. Meadow jumping mice exhibited a strong circadian rhythm of nightly activity that was disrupted during the hibernation interval. We conclude that it is possible to study hibernation phenotypes using captive-bred meadow jumping mice in a laboratory setting. Public Library of Science 2021-05-10 /pmc/articles/PMC8109813/ /pubmed/33970917 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240706 Text en © 2021 Brem et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Brem, Ethan A.
McNulty, Alyssa D.
Israelsen, William J.
Breeding and hibernation of captive meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius)
title Breeding and hibernation of captive meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius)
title_full Breeding and hibernation of captive meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius)
title_fullStr Breeding and hibernation of captive meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius)
title_full_unstemmed Breeding and hibernation of captive meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius)
title_short Breeding and hibernation of captive meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius)
title_sort breeding and hibernation of captive meadow jumping mice (zapus hudsonius)
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8109813/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33970917
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240706
work_keys_str_mv AT bremethana breedingandhibernationofcaptivemeadowjumpingmicezapushudsonius
AT mcnultyalyssad breedingandhibernationofcaptivemeadowjumpingmicezapushudsonius
AT israelsenwilliamj breedingandhibernationofcaptivemeadowjumpingmicezapushudsonius