Hibernation is characterized by reduced metabolism and body temperature during torpor bouts. Energy reserves available during winter play an important role for hibernation and some species respond to high energy reserves with reduced torpor expression. Common hamsters are food-storing hibernators and females hibernate for shorter periods than males, probably related to larger food stores. In this study, we provided free-ranging common hamsters with sunflower seeds shortly before winter and recorded body temperature using subcutaneously implanted data loggers. We compared hibernation patterns and body mass changes between individuals with and without food supplements and analysed reproductive onset in females. Supplemented males delayed hibernation onset, hibernated for much shorter periods, and emerged in spring with higher body mass than unsupplemented ones. Additional food did not affect hibernation performance in females, but supplemented females emerged earlier and preceded those without food supplements in reproductive onset. Thus, males and females differently responded to food supplementation: access to energy-rich food stores enabled males to shorten the hibernation period and emerge in better body condition, probably enhancing mating opportunities and reproductive success. Females did not alter hibernation patterns, but started to reproduce earlier than unsupplemented individuals, enabling reproductive benefits by an extended breeding period.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31520-4 | DOI Listing |
Vet Rec
January 2025
Department of Animal and Agriculture, Hartpury University, Gloucester, UK.
Background: There is limited research on how rodent owners use and perceive veterinary services and what the demand for pet insurance for these species is.
Methods: An online survey of owners of pet rodents (guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, gerbils and mice) measured owner confidence in recognising signs of illness, their opinions on and use of veterinary services and their willingness to purchase pet insurance.
Results: A total of 1700 respondents completed the survey.
BMC Oral Health
January 2025
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA.
Objective: With altered sense of taste being a common symptom of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the main objective was to investigate the presence and distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) within the tongue over the course of infection.
Methods: Golden Syrian hamsters were inoculated intranasally with SARS-CoV-2 and tongues were collected at 2, 3, 5, 8, 17, 21, 35, and 42 days post-infection (dpi) for analysis. In order to test for gross changes in the tongue, the papillae of the tongue were counted.
Prep Biochem Biotechnol
January 2025
Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells represent the most common host system for the expression of high-quality recombinant proteins. The development of stable CHO cell lines used in industrial recombinant protein production often relies on dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and glutamine synthetase (GS) amplification systems. Conventional approaches to develop stable cell lines lead to heterogeneous cell populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis
January 2025
Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Málaga, Málaga, Spain; Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga and Platform on Nanomedicine (IBIMA-Plataforma BIONAND), Málaga, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain.
Molecular markers and pathways involved in the etiology and pathophysiology of bicuspid aortopathy are poorly understood. The aim here is to delve into the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the disease and identify potential predictive molecular markers using a well-established isogenic hamster model (T-strain) of bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and thoracic aortic dilatation (TAD). We carried out comparative quantitative proteomics combined with western blot and morpho-molecular analyses in the ascending aorta of tricuspid aortic valve (TAV) and BAV animals from the T-strain, and TAV animals from a control strain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVet Res Commun
January 2025
Division of Animal Anatomy, Department of Biostructure and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.
Clinically, the rodent thorax is important because of the variety of problems that may affect the heart, lungs, and other thoracic structures. Syrian hamsters are the most common pet and experimental hamster species. Sectional imaging of small mammals is widely increasing in use for clinical and research settings; however, no reports on the thoracic sectional imaging anatomy in this species have been made.
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