A COMPARISON OF ENVIRONMENTALLY INDUCED PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES IN GENERALIZED AND ADVANCED PRIMATES.
Abstract
To compare the effects of temperature acclimation on cellular metabolic changes in stem primates and insectivores with those known to occur in rodents, a set of mitochondrial, microsomal and homogenate oxidative enzymatic assays, similar to those done earlier on tissues of acclimated rodents, was done on heat- and cold-exposed insectivores, Suncus murinus (a shrew), and on the stem primate, Tupaia chinensis. Also, the amount of protein per gram tissue was measured, and body and organ weights were recorded. Healthy adult animals of both sexes were used. In an initial study, 20 of each type of animal were sacrificed for determination of the temperature extremes which could be tolerated. Following this, Tupaiads were exposed to 35, 24, and 12 C for periods of 4 and 8 weeks. In the studies on Suncus the temperatures of acclimation were 28 C (control) and 12 C. Oxidative enzyme levels of heart, kidney, liver, skeletal muscle and brown fat homogenates and of liver mitochondria and microsomes were measured. Mitochondrial ADP:O ratios were also determined. The data on the Tupaiads indicate that the changes in oxidative enzymatic levels do not mimic those seen in rodents, but are more similar to those which occur in monkeys. Changes in the insectivores were somewhat intermediate between those seen in rodents and those seen in the Tupaiads. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0678182
Entities
People
- R. R. J. Chaffe
Organizations
- University of Missouri