RESUMO
The tortuous nature of the ovine cervix restricts the transcervical passage of the cannula, and many studies have aimed to understand the endocrine mechanism of the remodelling of cervical tissue in adult ewe. However, little is known about the remodelling of the cervical tissue during the prepubertal development of the lambs. To obtain histochemical and biochemical evidence about the nature of the prepubertal development of the cervix of the ewe, cervices of Corriedale lambs obtained at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 months of age (n = 5 to 6 in each) were processed. Neutral and acidic glycosaminoglycans (by PAS-Alcian stain) were weakly in the cervical stroma and not shown change during the development, whereas the percentage volume of fibrillar collagen (by van Gieson stain) increases throughout the experimental period in the superficial fold stroma and deep wall stroma (p < 0.05). The relative cervical weight (g/kg of body weight) and the collagen concentration (by spectrophotometry, mg/mg wet tissue) showed an early decreasing phase from months 0 to 4 and a later increasing phase from months 4 to 8 (p < 0.05). The latent form of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) detected by gelatin zymography (ng/mg protein) decreased from months 0 to 2 and increased from months 4 to 8, whereas the activated form decreased from months 0 to 2, remained low until month 6 and then recovered on month 8 (p < 0.0001). Data suggest that the relative cervical weight biphasic pattern during the development is related to MMP-2-dependent changes in the collagen content.
Assuntos
Colo do Útero/química , Colágeno/análise , Glicosaminoglicanos/análise , Metaloproteinase 2 da Matriz/análise , Metaloproteinase 9 da Matriz/análise , Ovinos/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Animais , Peso Corporal , Colo do Útero/enzimologia , Colo do Útero/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Feminino , Histocitoquímica/veterinária , Tamanho do Órgão , Inclusão em Parafina/veterinária , Espectrofotometria/veterinária , Coloração e Rotulagem/veterináriaRESUMO
Seed-eating birds have a diet of high nutritional value; however, they must cope with plant secondary metabolites (PSM). We postulated that the detoxification capacity of birds is associated with a metabolic cost, given that the organs responsible for detoxification significantly contribute to energetic metabolism. We used an experimental approach to assess the effects of phenol-enriched diets on two passerines with different feeding habits: the omnivorous rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) and the granivorous common diuca-finch (Diuca diuca). The birds were fed with one of three diets: control diet, supplemented with tannic acid, or supplemented with Opuntia ficus-indica phenolic extract (a common food of the sparrow but not the finch). After 5 weeks of exposure to the diets, we measured basal metabolic rates (BMR), energy intake, glucuronic acid output and digestive and kidney structure. In both species, detoxification capacity expressed as glucuronic acid output was higher in individuals consuming phenol-enriched diets compared to the control diet. However, whereas sparrows increase energy intake and intestinal mass when feeding on phenol-enriched diets, finches had lower intestinal mass and energy intake remains stable. Furthermore, sparrows had higher BMR on phenol-enriched diets compared to the control group, whereas in the finches BMR remains unchanged. Interspecific differences in response to phenols intake may be determined by the dietary habits of these species. While both species can feed on moderate phenolic diets for 5 weeks, energy costs may differ due to different responses in food intake and organ structure to counteract the effects of PSM intake.
Assuntos
Tentilhões , Trato Gastrointestinal/anatomia & histologia , Rim/anatomia & histologia , Fenóis/farmacologia , Pardais , Animais , Metabolismo Basal , Dieta , Ingestão de Energia , Tentilhões/anatomia & histologia , Tentilhões/fisiologia , Frutas , Trato Gastrointestinal/fisiologia , Ácido Glucurônico/metabolismo , Rim/fisiologia , Opuntia , Extratos Vegetais/farmacologia , Plantas/metabolismo , Pardais/anatomia & histologia , Pardais/fisiologiaRESUMO
Specific fatty acids (FA) such as unsaturated (UFA) and saturated (SFA) fatty acids contained in foods are key factors in the nutritional ecology of birds. By means of a field and experimental approach, we evaluated the effect of diet on the activity of three esterases involved in FA hydrolysis; carboxylesterase (CE: 4-NPA-CE and a-NA-CE) and butyrylcholinesterase, in two South American passerines: the omnivorous rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) and the granivorous common diuca-finch (Diuca diuca). The activity of the three esterases was measured in the intestines of freshly caught individuals over two distinct seasons and also after a chronic intake of a UFA-rich or SFA-rich diet in the laboratory. In turn, we assessed the feeding responses of the birds choosing amongst diets contrasting in the kind of specific FA (UFA- vs. SFA-treated diets). During summer, field CE activities (4-NPA-CE and a-NA-CE) in the small intestine were higher in the rufous-collared sparrow (25.3 ± 3.3 and 81.4 ± 10.8 µmol min(-1) g tissue(-1), respectively) than in the common diuca-finch (10.0 ± 3.0 and 33.9 ± 13.1 µmol min(-1) g tissue(-1), respectively). Two hour feeding trial test indicated that both species exhibited a clear preference for UFA-treated diets. On average, the rufous-collared sparrow consumed 0.46 g 2 h(-1) of UFA-rich diets and 0.12 g 2 h(-1) of SFA-rich diets. In turn, the consumption pattern of the common diuca-finch averaged 0.73 and 0.16 g 2 h(-1) for UFA-rich and SFA-rich diets, respectively. After a month of dietary acclimation to UFA-rich and SFA-rich diets, both species maintained body mass irrespective of the dietary regime. Additionally, the intestinal 4-NPA-CE activity exhibited by birds fed on a UFA-rich or SFA-rich diet was higher in the rufous-collared sparrow (39.0 ± 5.3 and 44.2 ± 7.3 µmol min(-1) g tissue(-1), respectively) than in the common diuca-finch (13.3 ± 1.9 and 11.2 ± 1.4 µmol min(-1) g tissue(-1), respectively). Finally, the intestinal a-NA-CE activity exhibited by the rufous-collared sparrow was about two times higher when consuming an UFA-rich diet. Our results suggest that the rufus-collared sparrow exhibits a greater capacity for intestinal FA hydrolysis, which would allow it to better deal with fats from different sources.
Assuntos
Fenômenos Fisiológicos da Nutrição Animal , Hidrolases de Éster Carboxílico/metabolismo , Ácidos Graxos/metabolismo , Comportamento Alimentar/fisiologia , Intestinos/enzimologia , Passeriformes/fisiologia , Análise de Variância , Animais , Chile , Hidrólise , Especificidade da Espécie , Estatísticas não ParamétricasRESUMO
We studied the renal morphology of 16 species of passerines to assess whether the composition of the diet of birds have been paralleled by differences in the characteristics of the kidneys. We determined the number and length of the medullary cones and the percentage of renal medulla in birds with contrasting dietary habits and then correlated these features with the percentage of nitrogen and proportion of invertebrates in the diet. To examine the correlation between kidney and diet variables, we first used standard correlation and least square regression, and correlation and regression on phylogenetically independent data. We found that the mass of the medullary portion of the kidney, and the medullary cone length were negatively correlated with the percentage of invertebrates present in the diet. We hypothesized that the further development of the renal medulla observed in granivorous birds may be correlated with the small amount of water present in the seeds. Our results suggest that the availability of water in different foods is probably one of the main factors that have led to structural and probably functional changes of the kidney in the studied species.
Assuntos
Dieta , Medula Renal/anatomia & histologia , Passeriformes/anatomia & histologia , Animais , Tamanho Corporal , Comportamento Alimentar , Filogenia , SementesRESUMO
The food habit hypothesis (FHH) predicts that mass-independent BMR is associated with dietary traits. In spite of decades of research, the FHH remains controversial, in part because ambiguities surrounding diet categorization can potentially confound interpretations from interspecific analyses of the relative importance of diet quality. In this study, we investigated possible relationships between BMR and the percentage of nitrogen, and the percentage of various prey items in the gut content of 19 passerine species under an explicit phylogenetic context. There were no significant effects of the percentage of dietary nitrogen, invertebrates, or plants on mass-independent BMR using either conventional or phylogenetically corrected regressions. Consequently, our results do not support the FHH in passerine birds. The lack of a significant correlation between diet and BMR could be explained by generally similar levels of activity and similar body composition among species. In this sense, it is possible that the impact of food habits could depend mainly on body mass, which is also associated to the high cost of the endothermy at small sizes.