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PubMed2004

Relationship between body size, Na+-K+-ATPase activity, and membrane lipid composition in mammal and bird kidney.

We investigated the relationship between body size, Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase molecular activity, and membrane lipid composition in the kidney of five mammalian and eight avian species ranging from 30-g mice to 280-kg cattle and 13-g zebra finches to 35-kg emus, respectively. Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity was found to be higher in the smaller species of both groups. In small mammals, the higher Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity was primarily the result of an increase in the molecular activity (turnover rate) of individual enzymes, whereas in small birds the higher Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity was the result of an increased enzyme concentration. Phospholipids from both mammals and birds contained a relatively constant percentage of unsaturated fatty acids; however, phospholipids from the smaller species were generally more polyunsaturated, and a complementary significant allometric increase in monounsaturate content was observed in the larger species. In particular, the relative content of the highly polyunsaturated docosahexaenoic acid [22:6(n-3)] displayed the greatest variation with body mass, scaling with allometric exponents of -0.21 and -0.26 in the mammals and birds, respectively. This allometric variation in fatty acid composition was correlated with Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase molecular activity in mammals, whereas in birds molecular activity only correlated with membrane cholesterol content. These relationships are discussed with respect to the metabolic intensity of different-sized animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Comparison of the "mammal machine" and the "reptile machine": energy production.

Standard metabolism and body composition were measured in Amphibolurus nuchalis and Mus musculus (a reptile and mammal with the same weight and body temperature). The metabolic capacity for energy production was assessed in liver, heart, brain, and kidney in the lizard and mouse by two methods: measurement of mitochondrial enzyme activity (cytochrome oxidase) and measurement of both mitochondrial volume density and membrane surface area. Both methods gave a three- to sixfold greater capacity for energy production in the mammal compared to the lizard which is less than the eightfold difference in their standard metabolisms. The difference in energy production capacity was not due to any single parameter but was a summation of several smaller differences. The mammal had relatively larger internal organs than the reptile, their organs had a greater proportion of mitochondria, and their mitochondria had a greater relative membrane surface area. These differences, it is suggested, may be due in part to different thyroid function in reptiles and mammals.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Contribution of renal medullary mitochondrial density to urinary concentrating ability in mammals.

In mammals, the length of the loops of Henle increases with increasing body size without a concomitant rise in urinary concentrating ability. Because mass-specific metabolic rate falls with increasing body mass, this study sought to determine the extent to which this decline in metabolic rate could explain the low urinary concentrating ability of large mammals with long loops of Henle. Mitochondrial ultrastructural parameters were measured in the medullary thick ascending limbs (mTALs) of a series of nine mammalian genera ranging in body mass from 0.011 kg (bats) to approximately 400 kg (horses). The volume of mitochondria as a percent of mTAL cellular volume declined with increasing body mass (Mb-0.056). Inner mitochondrial membrane area per volume of mitochondrion also declined with increasing body mass (Mb-0.034), as did basolateral membrane area per unit mTAL cellular volume (Mb-0.075). Thus, not only do mitochondria occupy more volume of mTAL cells of smaller mammals, but those mitochondria are also more densely packed with cristae. Inner mitochondrial membrane area per unit volume of mTAL cell cytoplasm scaled as Mb-0.092. The decline in inner mitochondrial membrane area and basolateral membrane area per volume of mTAL cell may explain at least in part the relationship between body mass and renal concentrating ability in mammals of different sizes.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Causes of differences in respiration rate of hepatocytes from mammals of different body mass.

Resting O2 consumption of hepatocytes isolated from mammals ranging in mass from 20-g mice to 200-kg horses decreases with increasing body mass. The substrate oxidation system increases in activity with increasing body mass and mitochondrial proton leak and phosphorylation system decrease in activity, resulting in a higher mitochondrial membrane potential in hepatocytes from larger mammals. The absolute rates of O2 consumption due to nonmitochondrial processes, substrate oxidation, mitochondrial proton leak, and the phosphorylation system decrease with increasing body mass. These decreases are due partly to a decrease in mitochondrial number per cell and partly to decrease in mitochondrial inner membrane proton leakiness and in ATP turnover by cells from larger mammals. Quantitatively, the proportion of total cell O2 consumption by nonmitochondrial processes (13%) and oxidation of substrates (87%) and the proportions used to drive mitochondrial proton leak (19%) and the phosphorylation system (68%) are the same for hepatocytes from all mammals investigated. The effect of matched decreases in the rates of proton leak and of ATP turnover is to keep the effective amount of ATP synthesized per unit of O2 consumed relatively constant with body mass, suggesting that the observed value is optimal.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed2002

Prospect of a stanniocalcin endocrine/paracrine system in mammals.

Stanniocalcin (STC) is a calcium- and phosphate-regulating hormone produced in bony fish by the corpuscles of Stannius, which are located close to the kidney. It is a major antihypercalcemic hormone in fish. As the corpuscles of Stannius are absent, and antihypercalcemic hormones are basically not necessary, in mammals, the discovery of a mammalian homolog, STC1, was surprising and intriguing. STC1 displays a relatively high amino acid sequence identity (approximately 50%) with fish STC. In contrast to fish STC, STC1 is expressed in many tissues, including kidney. More recently, a human gene encoding the second stanniocalcin-like protein, STC2, was identified. STC2 has a lower identity (approximately 35%) with STC1 and fish STC. Similar to STC1, STC2 is also expressed in a variety of tissues. Research into the functions of STCs in mammals is still at an early stage, and the ultimate physiological and pathological roles of STCs have not yet been established. A few studies indicate that STC1, similar to fish STC, stimulates phosphate absorption in the kidney and intestine, but the function of STC2 is still unknown. However, several interesting findings have been reported on their cellular localization, gene structure, and expression in different physiological and pathological conditions, which will be clues in elucidating the functions of STCs in mammals. STC1 expression is enhanced by hypertonicity in a kidney cell line or by ischemic injuries and neural differentiation in the brain. STC1 expression in the ovary is also enhanced during pregnancy and lactation. Calcitriol upregulates STC1 and downregulates STC2 expression in the kidney. Interestingly, STC1 and STC2 are expressed in many tumor cell lines, and the expression of STC2 is enhanced by estradiol in breast cancer cells. STC2 is also expressed in pancreatic islets. These results suggest that the biological repertoires of STCs in mammals will be considerably larger than in fish and may not be limited to mineral metabolism. This brief review describes recent progress in mammalian STC research.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Mammal-like striatal functions in Anolis. II. Distribution of dopamine D(1) and D(2) receptors, and a laminar pattern of basal ganglia sub-systems.

We used in situ autoradiographic ligand binding methods to determine the occurrence and distribution of dopamine D(1) and D(2) receptor sub-types in the anole lizard, Anolis carolinensis. Both were present and exhibited pharmacological specificity characteristics similar to those described for mammals. However, unlike in mammals where in the neostriatum [outside the nucleus accumbens/olfactory tubercle complex (NA/OT)] these receptors exhibit only slight dorsolateral (D(2) high, D(1) low) to ventromedial (D(1 )high, D(2) low) gradients that co mingle extensively, in the anole striatum outside the NA/OT there was a striking laminar pattern, with little if any overlap between D(2) (high in a dorsal band) and D(1) (high ventral to the D(2) band) distributions. As D(1) receptors are related to the direct and D(2) to the indirect basal ganglia (BG) subsystems in mammals, we also determined anole striatal distributions of pre-proenkephalin mRNA, a marker for striatal efferents to the indirect BG subsystem in mammals. Here, too, there was a striking laminar pattern, with pre-proenkephalin mRNA in a band similar to that seen for D(2) receptors. The crisp neuroanatomical separation between these classic BG subsystem markers in Anolis striatum make this species attractive for the study of such systems' functions during behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Ontogeny of the projection tracts and commissural fibres in the forebrain of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii): timing in comparison with other mammals.

The sequence of appearance of major forebrain projection and commissural fibre bundles in the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) during development was examined with the aid of silver and haematoxylin stained material. At the time of birth (P0), the cerebral cortex is unformed, but two prominent fibre bundles are apparent in the forebrain: the medial forebrain bundle and the stria medullaris thalami. There is also an unidentified tract (possibly thalamostriate or striothalamic), which appears to be transient, in that it cannot be identified at P8. By P2 the posterior commissure, fasciculus retroflexus and mammillothalamic tract have appeared. Fibres of the fornix were first visible at P8. Cortical projection fibres (internal and external capsular fibres) were first noted at P10 and the anterior commissure at P14. It was not until P18 that the cortical commissural bundle unique to diprotodontid metatherians, namely the fasciculus aberrans, was first seen. The hippocampal commissure was seen to develop relatively late, at P35. The sequence and tempo of development of these tracts has been compared in metatherian and eutherian forebrains. The sequence is similar in the two groups of mammals with one exception: isocortical commissural connections appear to develop considerably earlier in diprotodontid metatherians than in eutherians. With regard to the tempo of forebrain tract development, mammals with r selection reproductive patterns (large litter sizes, many litters per reproductive lifetime, rapid development of offspring, e.g. polyprotodontid metatherians, rodents) appear to have forebrain tract development occupying a relatively greater proportion of the period from conception to the attainment of behavioural autonomy than do those animals with K selection reproductive patterns (few offspring per reproductive lifetime, relatively prolonged development of offspring, e.g. diprotodontid metatherians, primates). This difference is irrespective of whether a mammal is metatherian or eutherian, independent of encephalization, and probably reflects the greater time allocated to aspects of brain development occurring after initial tract formation (elaboration of cortical and forebrain circuitry, dendritic tree growth, synapse overproduction and elimination) among selection mammals.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Size and shape of the cerebral cortex in mammals. I. The cortical surface.

The evolution of the brain in mammals has been accompanied by a progressive enlargement of the cerebral cortex. Allometric analysis of the volume, surface and convolutedness of this cortex shows that among mammals two major groups can be distinguished: (1) species with lissencephalic brains, where surface-volume relationships are determined by linear geometric laws, and (2) species with gyrencephalic brains, where strict geometric similarity no longer applies. Different mathematical models are required to describe the brain morphology in these groups. It has been shown, moreover, that among species with convoluted brains, marine mammals (Cetacea) form a subgroup in that the cerebrocortical surface in these animals is more folded than in terrestrial mammals of similar brain size. Thus it appears that the use of a single allometric relation in studying the effect of size increase on the geometry of the brain - irrespective of convolutedness or ecological strategy - as has been done in previous studies, is unjustified and obscures the differences in the structural organization of mammalian brains. Finally, a dimensionless index of cortical folding is proposed, which indicates that the degree of cortical folding depends not only on the volume of the brain or cortex but on cortical thickness as well.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Vitamin A physiology and its application as a biomarker of contaminant-related toxicity in marine mammals: a review.

In recent decades, marine mammal populations living in highly polluted areas have experienced incidences of low reproductive success, developmental abnormalities and disease outbreaks. In many of these cases, environmental contaminants were suspected as causal or contributing factors. However, demonstrating a mechanistic link between contaminant exposure and effect in marine mammal populations has proven challenging. Consequently, the development and application of relatively noninvasive biomarkers represents a potentially valuable means of monitoring wildlife populations exposed to elevated levels of contaminants. One touted biomarker is vitamin A (retinol), a "dietary hormone" whose metabolites are required for reproduction, growth, development, immune function, vision and epithelial maintenance. Laboratory studies have shown that many contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), can disrupt vitamin A physiology and alter the distribution of its essential metabolites. Field studies suggest that complex environmental mixtures of these chemicals can also interfere with vitamin A dynamics in free-ranging marine mammals and other fish-eating wildlife. However, circulatory retinol, which is the least invasive measurement of vitamin A status, appears to have variable responses to contaminant exposure. In addition, "normal" circulatory retinol levels have not yet been described for most wildlife species, and not enough is known about the natural physiological events that can alter these concentrations. Confounding factors must therefore be characterized before retinoids can be used as an effective indicator of adverse health effects in marine mammals exposed to elevated levels of environmental contaminants.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

A higher-level MRP supertree of placental mammals.

BACKGROUND: The higher-level phylogeny of placental mammals has long been a phylogenetic Gordian knot, with disagreement about both the precise contents of, and relationships between, the extant orders. A recent MRP supertree that favoured 'outdated' hypotheses (notably, monophyly of both Artiodactyla and Lipotyphla) has been heavily criticised for including low-quality and redundant data. We apply a stringent data selection protocol designed to minimise these problems to a much-expanded data set of morphological, molecular and combined source trees, to produce a supertree that includes every family of extant placental mammals. RESULTS: The supertree is well-resolved and supports both polyphyly of Lipotyphla and paraphyly of Artiodactyla with respect to Cetacea. The existence of four 'superorders'--Afrotheria, Xenarthra, Laurasiatheria and Euarchontoglires--is also supported. The topology is highly congruent with recent (molecular) phylogenetic analyses of placental mammals, but is considerably more comprehensive, being the first phylogeny to include all 113 extant families without making a priori assumptions of suprafamilial monophyly. Subsidiary analyses reveal that the data selection protocol played a key role in the major changes relative to a previously published higher-level supertree of placentals. CONCLUSION: The supertree should provide a useful framework for hypothesis testing in phylogenetic comparative biology, and supports the idea that biogeography has played a crucial role in the evolution of placental mammals. Our results demonstrate the importance of minimising poor and redundant data when constructing supertrees.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

An allometric comparison of microsomal membrane lipid composition and sodium pump molecular activity in the brain of mammals and birds.

Previous research has shown that the lipid milieu surrounding membrane proteins may be an important factor in determining their activity. To investigate this we have examined sodium pump molecular activity and microsomal membrane lipid composition in the brain of five mammalian and eight avian species ranging in size from 30 g mice to 280 kg cattle and 13 g zebra finches to 35 kg emus, respectively. Sodium pump (Na(+),K(+)-ATPase) activity was higher in the smaller species and showed a significant allometric decline with body mass in both the mammals (micromol P(i) h(-1) mg wet mass(-1) = 6.2 x mass(-0.06)) and birds (micromol P(i) h(-1) mg wet mass(-1) = 5.4 x mass(-0.07)). In small mammals, the elevated enzyme activity was related to allometric changes in both the concentration and the molecular activity (turnover rate) of sodium pumps, while in birds, no significant body-size-related variation was observed for either sodium pump concentration or molecular activity. Microsomal phospholipid fatty acid profile displayed little allometric variation in both the mammals and birds and was not correlated with molecular activity in either group. Brain phospholipids from both endothermic classes were dominated by the long chain n-3 polyunsaturate, docosahexaenoic acid [22:6 (n-3)], which accounted for an average of 28% and 34% of the total fatty acids in the mammals and birds respectively. Bird membranes also contained a relatively large percentage of 22:5 (n-6) as well as high levels of cholesterol. These results are discussed in relation to neurological function and the emerging field of membrane lipid rafts.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

The evolution of complex sensory systems in mammals.

Much of the forebrain of many extant species of mammals appears to be sensory-perceptual in nature. Thus, much of the forebrain, especially the dorsal thalamus and neocortex, consists of nuclei and areas that are parts of complex systems that analyze sensory information and allow behavior to be guided by accurate inferences about the external world. Since mammals vary tremendously in brain size, they vary in the amount of tissue devoted to sensory processing. In addition, mammals vary in the sizes and numbers of processing nuclei and areas, and in how neurons and neuron groups (modules) are differentiated within such structures. Sensory-perceptual systems with more, larger and more differentiated parts may allow more stimulus parameters to be considered, experience to play a greater role, and speed calculations through increased parallel processing. The evolution of species differences in brain size, the sizes of individual parts, and internal structure of these parts are potentially understandable within a theoretical framework of gradual modifications of developmental processes. In addition to changes in the generation and specialization of neurons, alterations in the developmental timing that modify internal and external influences on neuron activity patterns seem to have a major role in the construction and maintenance of organization in the nervous system. Because similar selection pressures may arise over and over again and the mechanisms for producing changes may be few, similar changes in the nervous system are likely to occur in independent lines of evolution. It is uncertain how new cortical areas and nuclei evolve. Comparative studies suggest that: (1) all mammals have a few basic sensory areas and nuclei in common, (2) the number of areas and nuclei has increased independently in several lines of mammalian evolution, and (3) new areas have been added to the middle levels of cortical processing sequences. New areas and nuclei may have evolved as a result of sudden duplications and/or by the process of single areas or nuclei gradually differentiating into two or more areas or nuclei. The process of gradual differentiation may have involved the initial step of differentiating functionally distinct classes of cells that are mixed in a representation, followed by the local groupings of such cells into functionally distinct sets, and finally the fusion of cell groups of the same types to form separate representations.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed1999

Expression of the spermatid-specific Hsp70 antigen is conserved in mammals including marsupials.

The anatomical location of testes in mammals ranges from a location close to that observed in the embryo to a lower position usually involving a pendant scrotum. In scrotal mammals, the abdominal position of the cryptorchid testis, which elevates its temperature, is detrimental to spermatogenesis and causes infertility. Spermatocytes are sensitive but late spermatids are relatively resistant to thermal stress suggesting that the latter might be protected in some way. In general, most organisms express Hsp70 proteins, which play a crucial role in the protection of cells against thermal stress. We have found previously that the Hsc70t protein, a member of the Hsp70 family of proteins, is constitutively expressed in the late spermatids of mice. Here, we have utilized immunohistochemistry with anti-mouse Hsc70t antiserum to examine the expression of the spermatid-specific Hsp70 antigen in the testes of several mammalian species with different degrees of testes migration. Our data indicate that the antigen is conserved in the mammals including marsupials. We also examined whether antigens of Hsp70-related proteins were expressed in non-mammalian vertebrates including not only homoiothermal but also poikilothermal animals. The spermatid-specific Hsp70 antigens were not detectable in the testes of the animals examined. From results of immunohistochemistry with BRM22 monoclonal antibody which reacts broadly with Hsp70 family proteins, however, we revealed constitutive expression of antigens of Hsp70-related proteins in spermatogenic cells of the vertebrates. These results suggest that the expression of spermatid-specific Hsp70 protein may be involved in the developmental pathway during spermiogenesis in mammals rather than in thermotolerance.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Morphological evolution is accelerated among island mammals.

Dramatic evolutionary changes occur in species isolated on islands, but it is not known if the rate of evolution is accelerated on islands relative to the mainland. Based on an extensive review of the literature, I used the fossil record combined with data from living species to test the hypothesis of an accelerated morphological evolution among island mammals. I demonstrate that rates of morphological evolution are significantly greater--up to a factor of 3.1--for islands than for mainland mammal populations. The tendency for faster evolution on islands holds over relatively short time scales--from a few decades up to several thousands of years--but not over larger ones--up to 12 million y. These analyses form the first empirical test of the long held supposition of accelerated evolution among island mammals. Moreover, this result shows that mammal species have the intrinsic capacity to evolve faster when confronted with a rapid change in their environment. This finding is relevant to our understanding of species' responses to isolation and destruction of natural habitats within the current context of rapid climate warming.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Allometric scaling of the active hematopoietic stem cell pool across mammals.

BACKGROUND: Many biological processes are characterized by allometric relations of the type Y = Y(0)M(b) between an observable Y and body mass M, which pervade at multiple levels of organization. In what regards the hematopoietic stem cell pool, there is experimental evidence that the size of the hematopoietic stem cell pool is conserved in mammals. However, demands for blood cell formation vary across mammals and thus the size of the active stem cell compartment could vary across species. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: Here we investigate the allometric scaling of the hematopoietic system in a large group of mammalian species using reticulocyte counts as a marker of the active stem cell pool. Our model predicts that the total number of active stem cells, in an adult mammal, scales with body mass with the exponent 3/4. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The scaling predicted here provides an intuitive justification of the Hayflick hypothesis and supports the current view of a small active stem cell pool supported by a large, quiescent reserve. The present scaling shows excellent agreement with the available (indirect) data for smaller mammals. The small size of the active stem cell pool enhances the role of stochastic effects in the overall dynamics of the hematopoietic system.

Adult↗
PubMed2026

First insights into the miRNA landscape of Tursiops truncatus milk reveal shared dominant microRNA families with terrestrial mammals.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that play crucial regulatory roles in gene expression in metazoans. While the miRNA repertoire and relative abundances have been extensively studied in terrestrial mammals, no information was available for the milk of marine mammals. Here, we present the first characterization of the miRNA genomic landscape and abundance in milk in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Using a sequence-based comparative approach, we identified 186 conserved miRNA families comprising 354 high-confidence precursors in the dolphin genome. Comparative analysis across 52 cetacean genomes revealed a small number of lineage-specific loss events, such as mir-187 in Delphinidae, and the absence of nine miRNA families in all cetaceans. Small RNA sequencing from pooled milk samples confirmed the detectable abundance of 119 miRNAs, with a landscape dominated by mir-148, let-7, mir-8, and mir-21, collectively accounting for over 70% of total miRNA reads. These dominant families include miRNAs frequently reported in the milk of terrestrial mammals, suggesting qualitative similarity in the major milk miRNA repertoire between dolphin and terrestrial mammals. These findings should be interpreted as a first sequencing-supported exploratory characterization of dolphin milk miRNAs.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Host associations of the tick, Ixodes angustus (Acari: Ixodidae), on Alaskan mammals.

Infestation parameters are presented for 227 ticks, all Ixodes angustus Neumann, collected from individual mammals (n = 531) in southeastern and south-central Alaska from 1996 to 1999. This tick was recovered from 12 of the 19 mammal species examined, with four species of shrews (Sorex spp.), two species of voles [Clethrionomys gapperi (Vigors) and Clethrionomys rutilus (Pallas)], one species of mouse [Peromyscus keeni (Rhoads)], and the red squirrel [Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Erxleben)] being the most frequently parasitized hosts. Larvae (n = 146) of I. angustus were collected most often, followed by nymphs (n = 50), females (n = 30), and a single male. The leptinid mammal-nest beetle Leptinus occidentamericanus Peck (1 male, 5 females) was also recovered from five individual small mammals; three of these were C. rutilus.

Alaska↗
PubMed2000

A survey of hemoparasite infections in free-ranging mammals and reptiles in French Guiana.

Blood smears of 1,353 free-ranging mammals (35 species) and 112 reptiles (31 species) from French Guiana were examined for hemoparasites. Parasites from 3 major groups were recorded: Apicomplexa (including hemogregarines, piroplasms, and Plasmodium spp.), Trypanosomatidae, and Filaroidea. Fifty percent of the individuals (86% of the species) were infected by parasites from at least 1 group. Hemogregarines, identified as Hepatozoon sp., infected numerous snakes with high prevalences (30-100%); infection is reported for the first time in 5 host genera of snakes: Clelia, Oxybelis, Pseustes, Rhinobotryum, and Bothriopsis. Infections were also observed in 4 marsupial species and 1 rodent. Hepatozoon spp. recorded in Didelphis albiventris (Marsupialia) and Coendou prehensilis (Rodentia) may be new species. Plasmodium sp. were observed in 2 snake species, Dipsas indica (Colubridae) and Bothrops atrox (Viperidae). Plasmodium brasilianum was recorded in all 5 primate species examined. Piroplasms were observed in all mammal orders except primates. Large terrestrial rodents were the main hosts of members of the Babesidae; 42% of Myoprocta acouchy, 36% of Dasyprocta agouti, and 44% of Agouti paca were infected. Trypanosomes were common in mammals and were recorded in 70% of the examined genera. Trypanosoma cruzi-like infections were reported in 21 mammal species, including sloths, rodents, carnivores, and primates. Microfilariae were also widespread, with higher prevalences in sloths, anteaters, and porcupines (>40% of the individuals infected) and in tamarins (95% infected). This survey highlights some potential anthropozoonotic risks due to the recent further evidence of Plasmodium brasilianum and P. malariae as a single species and to the increased diversity of hosts for Trypanosoma cruzi.

Animals↗