Oxidative costs of reproduction in mouse strains selected for different levels of food intake and which differ in reproductive performance.

Oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species has been hypothesised to underpin the trade-off between reproduction and somatic maintenance, i.e., the life-history-oxidative stress theory.

Limits to sustained energy intake. XXII. Reproductive performance of two selected mouse lines with different thermal conductance.

Maximal sustained energy intake (SusEI) appears limited, but the factors imposing the limit are disputed. We studied reproductive performance in two lines of mice selected for high and low food intake (MH and ML, respectively), and known to have large differences in thermal conductance (29% higher in the MH line at 21°C). When these mice raised their natural litters, their metabolisable energy intake significantly increased over the first 13 days of lactation and then reached a plateau.