title: Linkages between mitochondrial lipids and life history in temperate and tropical birds.
abstract: Temperate birds tend to have a fast pace of life and short life spans with high reproductive output, whereas tropical birds tend to have a slower pace of life, invest fewer resources in reproduction, and have higher adult survival rates. How these differences in life history at the organismal level are rooted in differences at the cellular level is a major focus of current research. Here, we cultured fibroblasts from phylogenetically paired tropical and temperate species, isolated mitochondria from each, and compared their mitochondrial membrane lipids. We also correlated the amounts of these lipids with an important life history parameter, clutch size. We found that tropical birds tended to have less mitochondrial lipid per cell, especially less cardiolipin per cell, suggesting that cells from tropical birds have fewer mitochondria or less inner mitochondrial membrane per cell. We also found that the mitochondria of tropical birds and the species with the smallest clutch sizes had higher amounts of plasmalogens, a lipid that could serve as an antioxidant. Overall, our findings are consistent with the idea that there are underlying molecular and cellular physiological traits that could account for the differences in whole-animal physiology between animals with different life histories.
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, 318 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210; 2Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, 1301 Catherine Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109; 3Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Ohio State University, 1645 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210.
authors.forename: Elisabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Calhoon
authors.forename: Ana Gabriela
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Jimenez
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.forename: Marianne S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Jurkowitz
authors.forename: Joseph B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D052284:Clutch Size; D004777:Environment; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D051336:Mitochondrial Membranes / Q000378:metabolism*; D009820:Ohio; D010176:Panama; D014329:Tropical Climate