Project description:Body temperature (T(b)) is an important physiological component that affects endotherms from the cellular to whole organism level, but measurements of T(b) in the field have been noticeably skewed towards heterothermic species and seasonal comparisons are largely lacking. Thus, we investigated patterns of T(b) patterns in a homeothermic, free-ranging small mammal, the Damaraland mole-rat (Fukomys damarensis) during both the summer and winter. Variation in T(b) was significantly greater during winter than summer, and greater among males than females. Interestingly, body mass had only a small effect on variation in T(b) and there was no consistent pattern relating ambient temperature to variation in T(b). Generally speaking, it appears that variation in T(b) patterns varies between seasons in much the same way as in heterothermic species, just to a lesser degree. Both cosinor analysis and Fast Fourier Transform analysis revealed substantial individual variation in T(b) rhythms, even within a single colony. Some individuals had no T(b) rhythms, while others appeared to exhibit multiple rhythms. These data corroborate previous laboratory work showing multiplicity of rhythms in mole-rats and suggest the variation seen in the laboratory is a true indicator of the variation seen in the wild.
Project description:We sequenced polyA-selected RNA from bone marrow derived cells from 47 bone samples collected from 16 captive, adult female Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis). The 16 females were experimentally manipulated to either remain as nonbreeders (either as helpers or solitaires) or become breeders, and breeding status was maintained for over 1 year prior to tissue collection and cell culture. A subset of cultured cells were treated for 24 hours with 10 nM estradiol prior to sample collection.
