Competition in newborn rabbits for thermally advantageous positions in the litter huddle is associated with individual differences in brown fat metabolism

Abstract The altricial young of the European rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) are not brooded by the mother, and although they are born into an underground nest, depend importantly on the warmth and insulation provided by littermates for their early growth and survival. Consistent with previous stud...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physiology & behavior 2013-06, Vol.118, p.189-194
Main Authors: Bautista, Amando, Castelán, Francisco, Pérez-Roldán, Humberto, Martínez-Gómez, Margarita, Hudson, Robyn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adipose Tissue, Brown - metabolism
Aging - physiology
Aging - psychology
Animals
Animals, Newborn - physiology
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Blotting, Western
body temperature
Body Temperature - physiology
Body Weight - physiology
Brown adipose tissue
Chinchilla
cold
Competitive Behavior - physiology
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Development
early development
Eating
Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
heat
Individuality
Ion Channels - biosynthesis
lipid metabolism
Lipid Metabolism - physiology
Male
milk
Mitochondrial Proteins - biosynthesis
neonates
nests
Oryctolagus cuniculus
physiological response
Pregnancy
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
pups
Rabbits
Sucking Behavior
sympathetic nervous system
Thermoregulation
UCP-1
Uncoupling Protein 1
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract The altricial young of the European rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) are not brooded by the mother, and although they are born into an underground nest, depend importantly on the warmth and insulation provided by littermates for their early growth and survival. Consistent with previous studies, heavier pups occupied more central, thermally advantageous positions in the litter huddle, maintained higher body temperatures, obtained more milk, were more efficient at converting it to body mass, and consequently grew faster than their lighter sibs occupying the periphery of the huddle. In the present study we measured the expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1), which is essential for the metabolism of brown adipose tissue to generate body heat in response to cold. In nine litters of domestic rabbits maintained for the first four postnatal days at temperatures below their critical thermoneutral temperature, peripheral pups showed greater expression of UCP-1 than intermediate pups, and these greater expression than central pups. This suggests that during early development littermates of the rabbit experience differing degrees of activation of the sympathetic nervous system as a consequence of exposure to different thermal environments associated with different positions in the litter huddle. Whether this is associated with long term differences in the physiological response to cold and perhaps in the manner of responding to other environmental challenges is currently under investigation.
ISSN:0031-9384
1873-507X
DOI:10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.05.035