Rapid stimulation of protein synthesis in digesting snakes: Unveiling a novel gut-pancreas-muscle axis.

Aim: Snakes exhibit remarkable physiological shifts when their large meals induce robust postprandial growth after prolonged fasting. To understand the regulatory mechanisms underlying this rapid metabolic transition, we examined the regulation of protein synthesis in pythons, focusing on processes driving early postprandial tissue remodeling and growth.

Methods: Using the SUnSET method with puromycin labeling, we measured in vivo protein synthesis in fasting and digesting snakes at multiple post-feeding intervals.

The Psychoactive Drug Escitalopram Affects Foraging Behavior in Zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are psychoactive pharmaceuticals that have been detected intact in natural waters globally. Laboratory experiments have reported that several SSRIs inhibit fish foraging behavior, but data for the SSRI escitalopram are lacking. The objectives of the present study were to determine whether escitalopram affects feeding behavior in zebrafish and whether possible sex differences exist.

The effects of endogenous and exogenous catecholamines on hypoxic cardiac performance in red-bellied piranhas.

Catecholamines protect the fish heart during hypoxia. However, the humoral adrenergic stress response may only be invoked in extremis. We investigated the hypothesis that endogenous (e.

The psychoactive drug Escitalopram affects swimming behaviour and increases boldness in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors are pharmaceuticals used to treat a range of psychological disorders. They are frequently found in surface waters in populated areas. In recent years, they have been shown to affect the behaviour of various aquatic organisms in a way that can have ecological effects.

Differences in Reproductive Behavior between Spawning and Non-Spawning Zebrafish Pairs and the Effects of 17α-Ethinylestradiol (EE2).

Reproductive success manifested by spawning and fertilization, in most fish, depends partly on an appropriate courtship behavior by both sexes. The zebrafish reproductive behavior can be resolved in some of its constituent elements by a computerized vision system and described in unbiased quantitative terms. Pairs of adult male and female zebrafish were monitored with automatic video tracking at 16 Hz for 45 min in a tank with a spawning area in one corner.

Earthworms accumulate alanine in response to drought.

Earthworms have ecologically significant functions in tropical and temperate ecosystems and it is therefore important to understand how these animals survive during drought. In order to explore the physiological responses to dry conditions, we simulated a natural drought incident in a laboratory trial exposing worms in slowly drying soil for about one month, and then analyzed the whole-body contents of free amino acids (FAAs). We investigated three species forming estivation chambers when soils dry out (Aporrectodea tuberculata, Aporrectodea icterica and Aporrectodea longa) and one species that does not estivate during drought (Lumbricus rubellus).

Accumulation of free amino acids during exposure to drought in three springtail species.

Springtails are closely related to insects, but they differ from these with respect to water balance, in particular because springtails are small and have high integumental permeability to water. Here we report a series of experiments addressing the dynamics of osmoregulation, water content and accumulation of free amino acids (FAAs) in three springtail species during exposure to a gradually increasing environmental desiccation simulating conditions in drought exposed soil. Folsomia candida and Protaphorura fimata (both living in the deeper soil layers; euedaphic species) were active throughout the 3week exposure, with the developing drought regime ending at -3.

Disrupted reproductive behavior in unexposed female zebrafish (Danio rerio) paired with males exposed to low concentrations of 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2).

Estrogenic substances, including the contraceptive pharmaceutical 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), pose a threat to aquatic wildlife causing endocrine disturbances of physiological processes and reproductive behavior. We have previously demonstrated that the reproductive behavior of male zebrafish, Danio rerio, remain intact after lifelong exposure to low concentrations of EE2 (0.05 and 0.

Male zebrafish (Danio rerio) courtship behaviour resists the feminising effects of 17alpha-ethinyloestradiol--morphological sexual characteristics do not.

The reproductive success of most fish depends partly on their ability to perform correct courtship behaviour. Alteration of this behaviour due to xenooestrogens can potentially affect the reproductive output and consequently population dynamics. In this lifetime study, zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to environmentally realistic (0.