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Chronic stress, energy transduction, and free-radical production in a reptile

  • Physiological ecology - original research
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Abstract

Stress hormones, such as corticosterone, play a crucial role in orchestrating physiological reaction patterns shaping adapted responses to stressful environments. Concepts aiming at predicting individual and population responses to environmental stress typically consider that stress hormones and their effects on metabolic rate provide appropriate proxies for the energy budget. However, uncoupling between the biochemical processes of respiration, ATP production, and free-radical production in mitochondria may play a fundamental role in the stress response and associated life histories. In this study, we aim at dissecting sub-cellular mechanisms that link these three processes by investigating both whole-organism metabolism, liver mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation processes (O2 consumption and ATP production) and ROS emission in Zootoca vivipara individuals exposed 21 days to corticosterone relative to a placebo. Corticosterone enhancement had no effect on mitochondrial activity and efficiency. In parallel, the corticosterone treatment increased liver mass and mitochondrial protein content suggesting a higher liver ATP production. We also found a negative correlation between mitochondrial ROS emission and plasma corticosterone level. These results provide a proximal explanation for enhanced survival after chronic exposure to corticosterone in this species. Importantly, none of these modifications affected resting whole-body metabolic rate. Oxygen consumption, ATP, and ROS emission were thus independently affected in responses to corticosterone increase suggesting that concepts and models aiming at linking environmental stress and individual responses may misestimate energy allocation possibilities.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to field assistants and technical staff at CEREEP-Ecotron IleDeFrance for their support, especially Hugo Mell. This study was funded by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-13-JSV7-0011-01 to S.M.) and the Région Île-de-France R2DS program (Grant 2013-08 to S.M., J.F.L.G. and R.J.). The authors declare no competing or financial interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés (U.M.R. CNRS 5023), Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Université de Lyon, Bd du 11 novembre 1918, Bât. Darwin C, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France

    Yann Voituron, Damien Roussel & Caroline Romestaing

  2. Institut d’Ecologie et des Sciences, de l’Environnement de Paris (iEES Paris)-UPMC-CNRS, Bat. A, 7ème étage cc237, quai Saint Bernard, 75252, Paris Cedex 05, France

    Rémy Josserand, Jean-François Le Galliard, Claudy Haussy & Sandrine Meylan

  3. Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, CNRS, Centre de recherche en écologie expérimentale et prédictive (CEREEP-Ecotron IleDeFrance), UMS 3194, 78 rue du château, 77140, Saint-Pierre-Lès-Nemours, France

    Jean-François Le Galliard

  4. ESPE de Paris, Université Sorbonne Paris IV, 10 rue Molitor, 75016, Paris, France

    Sandrine Meylan

Authors
  1. Yann Voituron
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  2. Rémy Josserand
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  5. Damien Roussel
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  6. Caroline Romestaing
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  7. Sandrine Meylan
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Contributions

YV, SM, and JFLG conceived, designed the study, and analyzed the data. RJ ensured animal husbandry, hormonal treatment and performed the statistical analyses. CH ensured plasma corticosterone measurements. DR and CR conceived and conducted the bioenergetics studies and performed the ROS production assessment. YV, SM, and JFLG wrote the manuscript; other authors provided editorial advice.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yann Voituron.

Additional information

Communicated by Deron E. Burkepile.

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Voituron, Y., Josserand, R., Le Galliard, JF. et al. Chronic stress, energy transduction, and free-radical production in a reptile. Oecologia 185, 195–203 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-017-3933-1

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