Huddling: brown fat, genomic imprinting and the warm inner glow.
Heat generated by huddling animals is a public good with a private cost and thus vulnerable to exploitation, as illustrated by recent work on rabbits and penguins. Effects of imprinted genes on brown adipose tissue suggest that non-shivering thermogenesis is an arena for intragenomic conflict.
Haig
David
D
Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. dhaig@oeb.harvard.edu
D052437:Adipocytes, Brown / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D018392:Genomic Imprinting / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D051379:Mice; D010332:Paternal Behavior; D011817:Rabbits / Q000502:physiology*; D046429:Spheniscidae / Q000502:physiology*