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Fasting in the American marten (Martes americana): a physiological model of the adaptations of a lean-bodied animal

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Abstract

The American marten (Martes americana) is a boreal forest marten with low body adiposity throughout the year. The aim of this study was to investigate the adaptations of this lean-bodied species to fasting for an ecologically relevant duration (48 h) by exposing eight farm-bred animals to total food deprivation with seven control animals. Selected morphological and hematological parameters, plasma and serum biochemistry, endocrinological variables and liver and white adipose tissue (WAT) enzyme activities were determined. After 48 h without food, the marten were within phase II of fasting with depleted liver and muscle glycogen stores, but with active lipid mobilization indicated by the high lipase activities in several WAT depots. The plasma ghrelin concentrations were higher due to food deprivation, possibly increasing appetite and enhancing foraging behavior. The lower plasma insulin and higher cortisol concentrations could mediate augmented lipolysis and the lower triiodothyronine levels could suppress the metabolic rate. Fasting did not affect the plasma levels of stress-associated catecholamines or variables indicating tissue damage. In general, the adaptations to short-term fasting exhibited some differences compared to the related farm-bred American mink (Mustela vison), an example of which was the better ability of the marten to hydrolyze lipids despite its significantly lower initial fat mass.

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Abbreviations

A:

Adrenaline

Acrp30:

Adiponectin

Ala:

Alanine

BM:

Body mass

BMI:

Body mass index

BUN:

Blood urea nitrogen

Chol:

Cholesterol

CK:

Creatine kinase

FA:

Fatty acid

G6Pase:

Glucose-6-phosphatase

HDL:

High-density lipoprotein

IAB:

Intraabdominal

Ile:

Isoleucine

LDL:

Low-density lipoprotein

Leu:

Leucine

MCHC:

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration

mes:

Mesenteric

NA:

Noradrenaline

om:

Omental

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid

RIA:

Radioimmunoassay

rp:

Retroperitoneal

SC:

Subcutaneous

T3 :

Triiodothyronine

T4 :

Thyroxine

TAG:

Triacylglycerol

Val:

Valine

WAT:

White adipose tissue

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported financially by the Academy of Finland (project #109884), Otto A. Malm’s Donation Fund, Alfred Kordelin Foundation, Helve Foundation and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada (Discovery Grant to KRW). We wish to thank Tanya Morse and Rena Currie, the staff of the Canadian Centre for Fur Animal Research, Rauni Kojo, Marja-Liisa Martimo-Halmetoja, Danielle Collins, Judy Grant, Cindy Crossman, Jody Muise and Margot White for logistical support during this research. The experiment complies with the current laws of Canada and Finland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Biosciences, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Petteri Nieminen & Anne-Mari Mustonen

  2. Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, P.O. Box 550, Truro, NS, Canada, B2N 5E3

    Kirsti Rouvinen-Watt

  3. Department of Biology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, 90014, Oulu, Finland

    Seppo Saarela

Authors
  1. Petteri Nieminen
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  2. Kirsti Rouvinen-Watt
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  3. Seppo Saarela
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  4. Anne-Mari Mustonen
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Correspondence to Petteri Nieminen.

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Communicated by G. Heldmaier.

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Nieminen, P., Rouvinen-Watt, K., Saarela, S. et al. Fasting in the American marten (Martes americana): a physiological model of the adaptations of a lean-bodied animal. J Comp Physiol B 177, 787–795 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-007-0175-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-007-0175-2

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