title: The shift of thermoneutral zone in striped hamster acclimated to different temperatures.
abstract: Temperature affects all biological functions and will therefore modulate ecologically significant interactions between animals and their environment. Here, we examined the effect of ambient temperature (Ta) on the thermal biology and energy budget in striped hamsters acclimated to cold (5°C), warm (21°C) and hot temperatures (31°C). Thermoneutral zone (TNZ) was 22.5-32.5°C, 25-32.5°C and 30-32.5°C in the cold-, warm- and hot-acclimated hamsters, respectively. The cold acclimation decreased the lower critical temperature and made the TNZ wider, and hot exposure elevated the lower critical temperature, resulting in a narrow TNZ. Within the TNZ, cold-acclimated hamsters showed a significantly higher rate of metabolism and thermogenesis than those acclimated to hot temperature. Digestive enzymes activities, including intestinal sucrase, maltase, L-alanine aminopeptidase-N and leucine aminopeptidase were higher in the cold than in the hot. The changes in metabolic rate and thermogenesis at different temperatures were in parallel with cytochrome c oxidase activity and uncoupling protein 1 gene expression of brown adipose tissue. This suggests that the shift of the lower critical temperature of TNZ is possibly associated with the rate of metabolism and thermogenesis, as well as with the digestive capacity of the gastrointestinal tract at different Ta. The upper critical temperature of TNZ may be independent of the changes in Ta. The changes of lower critical temperature of TNZ are an important strategy in adaption to variations of Ta.
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China ; State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management for Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Jun
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management for Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qing-Sheng
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management in Agriculture, Guangdong Entomological Institute, 105 Xin'gang Xilu, Haizhu, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Quan-Sheng
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Hong
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Song
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management for Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: De-Hua
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000502:physiology*; D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature; D006224:Cricetinae; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000378:metabolism; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D013696:Temperature; D022722:Thermogenesis / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV