Temperature affects liver and muscle metabolism in photostimulated migratory redheaded buntings (Emberiza bruniceps)

Abstract

We investigated the transcriptional effects of temperature on metabolism in the liver and flight muscle prior to the onset of spring migration in redheaded buntings. We measured changes in body mass, cellular lipid accumulation, and transcription of metabolic genes in the liver and flight muscle, during a week of exposure to 8-h short photoperiod (SP; 8L: 16D) and 13-h-long photoperiod (LP; 13L: 11D) at 22 °C to ascertain the responsiveness to LP, and during 2.5 weeks of LP at 22 and 38 °C to examine the effect of temperature on LP-induced metabolic response. Particularly, we measured mRNA expression of genes involved in the fatty acids and triglycerides biosynthesis (srebf1, elovl6, scd, fads2, and dgat2), glucose and lipid metabolism (sirt1, foxo1, ppara, pparg, hdac3, and hmgcr) in the liver, and fatty acid transport (cd36 and fabp3) and metabolism (myod1) in the flight muscle. Birds gained weight and had elevated lipid accumulation at 22 °C but not at 38 °C in the liver and muscle tissues. We also found significant differences in gene expression patterns during 2.5 weeks of LP exposure. For instance, as compared to week 1, there were decreased elovl6, dgat2, and srebf1 and increased foxo1 mRNA levels in the liver, and decreased cd36 and fabp3 mRNA levels in the muscle at 38 °C after 2.5 weeks of LP. It is suggested that a drastic change in temperature could alter the molecular metabolism in the liver and skeletal muscle with photoperiod-induced transition in the seasonal state in migratory songbirds.