Premium
SIGNIFICANCE OF ANOMALOUS THERMOREGULATION IN THE PRE‐DIABETIC SPINY MOUSE (ACOMYS CAHIRINUS) : OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND TEMPERATURE REGULATION
Author(s) -
Wise PH
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
australian journal of experimental biology and medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0004-945X
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1977.45
Subject(s) - basal metabolic rate , thermoregulation , metabolic rate , biology , basal (medicine) , body weight , arid , zoology , ecology , medicine , endocrinology , diabetes mellitus
Summary In keeping with studies of other desert rodents, the potentially diabetic spiny mouse has been demonstrated to have a very low basal metabolic rate, disproportionate to its body weight. The maintenance of a lower body temperature in response to high environmental temperatures and a lack of increase in metabolic rate in response to cooling have also been demonstrated. Assessments of “mechanical efficiency” have shown that spiny mice carry a potential selective advantage under fasting conditions. The findings, some of which are similar to those noted in other desert rodents, and in other species showing either spontaneous or induced hyperglycemia, suggest that the low metabolic rate is at least partly based on ineffective glucose utilization. This phenomenon may be the common denominator of the survival advantage which has allowed both the successful evolution of species inhabiting warm, arid climes, and the persistence of the diabetic genotype in animal and human populations.