Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology最新文献

{"title":"Daily rhythms of locomotor activity and transcript levels of non-visual opsins in the brain of the blind Mexican cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus).","authors":"Francesca Conti, Alba Vergès-Castillo, Francisco J Sánchez-Vázquez, José F López-Olmeda, Cristiano Bertolucci, José A Muñoz-Cueto","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111772","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111772","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Most organisms possess endogenous circadian clocks that synchronise their physiology and behaviour with environmental cycles, with the light-dark (LD) cycle being the most potent synchronising signal. Consequently, it can be hypothesised that animals that have evolved in the dark, as in caves or deep sea, may no longer possess a functional light-entrained biological clock. In this research, the blind cavefish Astyanax mexicanus was selected as a model organism to investigate the potential effects of daily light conditions on the circadian timekeeping mechanisms. First, we focused on describing behavioural photic entrainment and the presence of a circadian endogenous rhythmicity by recording locomotor activity rhythms under different lighting regimes: LD 12:12, after a 6-h shift of LD, constant darkness (DD), and constant dim light (LLdim). Secondly, we aimed at characterising the mechanisms of photodetection by analysing the daily rhythms of expression of selected non-visual extraocular opsins (exo-rhod, opn3, rgra, rgrb, tmt1a and tmt1b) in the brain of this blind species using real-time quantitative PCR. Our results revealed that blind Mexican cavefish activity rhythms were entrained to the LD cycle, with a diurnal activity pattern that persisted in a circadian fashion under constant lighting conditions. Additionally, statistically significant daily variations and/or rhythms were observed in three out of the six non-visual opsin genes analysed (opn3, rgra and tmt1b), all of them displaying nocturnal acrophases. These findings suggest that daily rhythms in extraretinal non-visual opsins may be transducing daily photic cycles and contributing to the entrainment of locomotor activity and other light-synchronised rhythms in blind cavefish species.</p>","PeriodicalId":55237,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142590894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physiological effects of research handling on the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris)","authors":"Lauren A. Cooley ,&nbsp;Allyson G. Hindle ,&nbsp;Cassondra L. Williams ,&nbsp;Paul J. Ponganis ,&nbsp;Shawn M. Hannah ,&nbsp;Holger Klinck ,&nbsp;Markus Horning ,&nbsp;Daniel P. Costa ,&nbsp;Rachel R. Holser ,&nbsp;Daniel E. Crocker ,&nbsp;Birgitte I. McDonald","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111771","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111771","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wildlife researchers must balance the need to safely capture and handle their study animals to sample tissues, collect morphological measurements, and attach dataloggers while ensuring their results are not confounded by stress artifacts caused by handling. To determine the physiological effects of research activities including chemical immobilization, transport, instrumentation with biologgers, and overnight holding on a model marine mammal species, we collected hormone, blood chemistry, hematology, and heart rate data from 19 juvenile northern elephant seals (<em>Mirounga angustirostris</em>) throughout a translocation experiment. Across our six sampling timepoints, cortisol and aldosterone data revealed a moderate hormonal stress response to handling accompanied by minor changes in hematocrit and blood glucose, but not ketone bodies or erythrocyte sedimentation rate. We also examined heart rate as a stress indicator and found that interval heart rate, standard deviation of heart rate, and apnea-eupnea cycles were influenced by handling. However, when seals were recaptured after several days at sea, all hormonal and hematological parameters had returned to baseline levels. Furthermore, 100 % of study animals were resighted in the wild post-translocation, with some individuals observed over four years later. Together, these findings suggest that while northern elephant seals exhibit measurable physiological stress in response to handling, they recover rapidly and show no observable long-term deleterious effects, making them a robust species for ecological and physiological research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55237,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142569983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of larval rearing temperature on steroidogenesis pathway development in winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) early life history","authors":"Nina Bellenger ,&nbsp;Étienne Audet-Walsh ,&nbsp;Lucas Germain ,&nbsp;Eric Normandeau ,&nbsp;Céline Audet","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111770","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111770","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Winter flounder (<em>Pseudopleuronectes americanus</em>) is a North Atlantic flatfish that inhabits cold-water environments already affected by global warming. Flatfishes are particularly sensitive during their juvenile stage to a phenomenon known as temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). In this study, we hypothesized that many genes involved in the steroidogenesis pathway are already expressed at the larval stage in winter flounder and that temperature conditions may influence this pathway prior to the juvenile stage, which is usually considered the TSD-sensitive period. We also hypothesized that temperature effects on the steroidogenesis pathway may carry over from the larval to the juvenile stage. We surveyed three cohorts issued from three different spawning events during spring. Rearing temperature and salinity conditions followed seasonal conditions in the St. Lawrence Estuary (Québec, Canada). As a result, cohorts were exposed to different temperature regimes during egg and larval development. Once metamorphosis occurred, all juveniles were held at a stable temperature of 10.1 ± 0.8 °C. Larvae were sampled at 20, 30, and, 40 days post-hatching and juveniles at one and two months post-metamorphosis. RNA was extracted from these individuals and then sequenced. Transcriptome analysis showed clear differentiation between larvae and juveniles. Gene expression patterns showed that the steroidogenesis pathway, including genes involved in gonadal differentiation, was influenced by temperature during larval development, which indicates that sexual determination at the cellular level is an early process in winter flounder development. Carry-over effects of larval rearing temperature conditions were present at the juvenile stage, with an increased number of genes involved in the steroidogenesis pathway being affected. Altogether, our study highlights the important role of larval development and temperature exposure on the transcriptome of winter flounder.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55237,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142553803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The influence of triiodothyronine on the immune response and extracellular matrix remodeling during zebrafish heart regeneration","authors":"Reece R.B. Long ,&nbsp;Oliver M.N. Bullingham ,&nbsp;Benjamin Baylis ,&nbsp;Jared B. Shaftoe ,&nbsp;John R. Dutcher ,&nbsp;Todd E. Gillis","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111769","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111769","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Damage to the human heart is an irreparable process that results in a permanent impairment in cardiac function. There are, however, a number of vertebrate species including zebrafish (<em>Danio rerio</em>) that can regenerate their hearts following significant injury. In contrast to these regenerative species, mammals are known to have high levels of thyroid hormones, which has been proposed to play a role in this difference in regenerative capacity. However, the mechanisms through which thyroid hormones effect heart regeneration are not fully understood. Here, zebrafish were exposed to exogenous triiodothyronine (T₃) for two weeks and then their hearts were damaged through cryoinjury to investigate the effect of thyroid hormones on ECM remodeling and the components of the immune response during heart regeneration. Additionally, cardiac fibroblasts derived from trout, another species of fish known to display cardiac regenerative capacity, were exposed to T₃ <em>in vitro</em> to analyze any direct effects of T₃ on collagen deposition. It was found that cryoinjury induction results in an increase in myocardial stiffness, but this response was muted in T₃ exposed zebrafish. The measurement of relevant marker gene transcripts suggests that T₃ exposure reduces the recruitment of macrophages to the damaged zebrafish heart immediately following injury but had no effect on the regulation of collagen deposition by cultured trout fibroblasts. These results suggest that T₃ effects both the immune response and ECM remodeling in zebrafish following cardiac injury.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55237,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142553801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physiological responses of euryhaline marine fish to naturally-occurring hypersalinity","authors":"Andrew J. Esbaugh","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111768","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111768","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hypersaline habitats are generally defined as those with salinities in excess of 40 ppt. Well-known hypersaline regions (e.g. salt and soda lakes) have a well-earned reputation for being among the most inhospitable habitats in the world, and fish endemic to these areas have been the subject of much research related to extremophile physiology. Yet, marine coastal hypersalinity is both a common occurrence and a growing consideration in many marine coastal ecosystems, in part owing to human influence (e.g. evaporation, river diversion, desalination effluent). Importantly, any increase in salinity will elevate the osmoregulatory challenges experienced by a fish, which must be overcome by increasing the capacity to imbibe and absorb water and excrete ions. While great attention has been given to dynamic osmoregulatory processes with respect to freshwater to seawater transitions, and to the extreme hypersalinity tolerance that is associated with the adoption of an osmo-conforming strategy, relatively little focus has been placed on the physiological implications of moderate hypersalinity exposures (e.g. ≤ 60 ppt). Importantly, these exposures often represent the threshold of osmoregulatory performance owing to energetic constraints on ion excretion and efficiency limitations on water absorption. This review will explore the current state of knowledge with respect to hypersalinity exposure in euryhaline fishes, while placing a particular focus on the physiological constraints, plasticity and downstream implications of long-term exposure to moderate hypersalinity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55237,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142513347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reproductive effort affects cellular response in the mantle of Nodipecten subnodosus scallops exposed to acute hyperthermia","authors":"A. Marzari ,&nbsp;I.S. Racotta ,&nbsp;C. Escobedo-Fregoso ,&nbsp;S. Artigaud ,&nbsp;E. Kraffe ,&nbsp;R.L. Salgado-García","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111766","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111766","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In marine ecosystems, temperature regulates the energy metabolism of animals. In the last decades, the temperature increase was related to mass mortality events of marine ectotherms, particularly during high-energy investment for reproduction. In scallops, the mantle has been poorly investigated while this tissue covers more than 40 % of the body mass, contributing to the perception of surrounding environmental stimuli. Our aim was to assess the cellular and molecular responses linked to energy metabolism in the mantle of adult <em>N. subnodosus</em> facing acute hyperthermia during reproductive effort. Scallops collected in spring (late gametogenesis) and summer (ripe gonads) were exposed to a control temperature (22 °C) or acute hyperthermia (30 °C) for 24 h. In spring, increased arginine kinase (AK) activity together with increased pyruvate kinase/citrate synthase ratio (PK/CS) suggested an enhanced carbohydrate, pyruvate, and arginine metabolism to maintain the adenylate energy charge (AEC) in the mantle of scallops coping with acute thermal increase. In summer, animals decreased their AEC (5 %) and arginine phosphate pool (40 %) and increased their anaerobic metabolism as shown by enhanced activities of lactate-dehydrogenase (LDH) and octopine dehydrogenase (ODH), respectively. The abundance of twenty proteins involved in energy metabolism (isocitrate dehydrogenase, ATP synthase subunit β), protein protection (cognate heat shock protein 70), and cytoskeleton (actins and tubulins) were affected only by season. These results underlie the role of the mantle of <em>N. subnodosus</em> in the seasonal responses of this tissue to thermal fluctuations during reproductive effort with possible implications for the physiological performance of scallops under heat waves in wild or harvest conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55237,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142481386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physiological adaptations of red blood cells during aestivation in the south American lungfish Lepidosiren paradoxa","authors":"Elisa M. Fonseca ,&nbsp;Sofia L.B. da S. Matos ,&nbsp;Alan E. Piedade ,&nbsp;Flávio A.G. Mourão ,&nbsp;Kenia C. Bícego ,&nbsp;Luciane H. Gargaglioni ,&nbsp;Glauber S.F. da Silva","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111765","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111765","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The South American lungfish <em>Lepidosiren paradoxa</em> inhabits areas with variable pluvial regimes. During aestivation (dormancy state observed in some species during dry seasons), the prolonged period of dryness imposes osmotic stress. We aimed to investigate the physiological and morphological adaptations of RBCs in <em>Lepidosiren paradoxa</em> during aestivation. Here, the lungfish were subjected to aestivation for 20 and 40 days and compared to a control group in an active period. The osmotic fragility, blood osmolality, and pH were measured. Blood smears were performed to assess morphological changes in the RBCs. <em>Lepidosiren paradoxa</em> presented lower hemolysis when compared with a teleost fish and tegu lizard. Hemolysis increased when the lungfish was subjected to 40 days of aestivation (from 6.04 % to 16.51 %; control vs 40-day aestivation). Hematocrit rose in both aestivation groups compared to the control (26.36 %, 41.36 % and 41 %, control, 20 and 40 days, respectively; <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) indicating changes in RBC volume and hydration status. Moreover, the results revealed increased osmolality in the 40-day aestivation group (244.4 vs 372.1 mmol/Kg; control vs 40-day aestivation). 40 days of aestivation led to a decrease in blood pH when compared to the control and 20-day aestivation groups. Both aestivation durations resulted in a reduction in the perimeter and cell diameters in at least one direction of the RBCs (24 % mean reduction in size from control to 40 days aestivation). These findings suggest that South American lungfish possess remarkable physiological and morphological adaptations in their RBCs during aestivation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55237,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142441406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterization, expression, and polymorphism of MHC II α and MHC II β in Sichuan taimen (Hucho bleekeri)","authors":"Yeyu Chen ,&nbsp;Xiaoyun Wu ,&nbsp;Huanchao Yang ,&nbsp;Zhao Liu ,&nbsp;Yanling Chen ,&nbsp;Qinyao Wei ,&nbsp;Jue Lin ,&nbsp;Yi Yu ,&nbsp;Quanyu Tu ,&nbsp;Hua Li","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111767","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111767","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is involved in antigen presentation and plays an essential role in regulating immune function. In the present study, we identified two MHC class II genes and investigated their potential roles in <em>Hucho bleekeri</em>. The MHC II α and MHC II β of <em>H. bleekeri</em> had typical leading peptides, extracellular domains, connecting peptides, transmembrane region, and cytoplasmic region. Amino acid sequence comparison revealed that MHC II of <em>H. bleekeri</em> has high homology with other vertebrates, among which homology with salmonid fish was the highest. Phylogenetic analysis showed that <em>H. bleekeri</em> MHC II clustered with salmonid fish; moreover they clustered with orthologous genes of other fish, whereas mammalian MHC II clustered into a separate branch. Tissue distribution analysis revealed <em>MHC II</em> was widely expressed in all tested tissues, with both <em>MHC II α</em> and <em>MHC II β</em> highly expressed in the spleen, gill, kidney, and hindgut. After lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) stimulation, the expression of <em>MHC II</em> in the head kidney and spleen of <em>H. bleekeri</em> was significantly upregulated. Compared with <em>MHC II α</em>, <em>MHC II β</em> acted faster in response to the stimulation. Polymorphism analysis of <em>MHC II</em> revealed that all the different alleles belonged to the same major type, and very limited polymorphisms were found in <em>H. bleekeri MHC II α</em> and <em>II β</em>. Selection pressure analysis showed signs of weak and non-significant positive selection in the <em>MHC II α</em> and <em>MHC II β</em> extracellular region. Our study reveals the potential role of MHC II in the immune response of <em>H. bleekeri</em> and provides a reference for studying the evolutionary model of teleost MHC II.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55237,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142441383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cogrowth advantage: Intestinal microbiota analysis of Bufo gargarizans and Rana chensinensis","authors":"Kaiyue Li ,&nbsp;Jiayi Li ,&nbsp;Shuangyan Luo ,&nbsp;Lihong Chai","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111764","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111764","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intestinal microbiota has profound effects on host health and adaptation to environmental changes. <em>Bufo gargarizans</em> and <em>Rana chensinensis</em> coexist in the same habitat and have been paid much attention to economically because of their medicinal value. To date, no comparison of differences between single and mixed populations has been made. In our study, differences in the structure and function of the intestinal microbial of <em>B. gargarizans</em> and <em>R. chensinensis</em> in environments of single-species and mixed-species growth were investigated by high-throughput sequencing. Our results suggest that the cogrowth of <em>B. gargarizans</em> and <em>R. chensinensis</em> could lead to the decrease of the abundance of pathogenic bacteria (<em>Bosea</em>) and the introduction or increase of beneficial bacteria (<em>Kaistia</em>, <em>Cetobacterium</em> and <em>Erysipelatoclostridium</em>). The Tax4Fun-based functional predictions revealed that the level of pathways involved in the metabolism of <em>R. chensinensis</em> in mixed-species aquaria is greatly up-regulated. This study provides useful information for ecologists, ecosystem policy makers and wildlife conservationists to promote more effective conservation measures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55237,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142441385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring immunoglobulin A as a stress biomarker in lions (Panthera leo): Validation of an immunoassay for its measurement in feces","authors":"Paula Serres-Corral ,&nbsp;Sergi Olvera-Maneu ,&nbsp;Vanessa Almagro ,&nbsp;Loles Carbonell ,&nbsp;Santiago Borragán ,&nbsp;Eva Martínez-Nevado ,&nbsp;Miguel Angel Quevedo ,&nbsp;Hugo Fernández-Bellon ,&nbsp;Annaïs Carbajal ,&nbsp;Manel López-Béjar","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111762","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111762","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Immunoglobulin A (IgA) has been investigated as a stress biomarker with the potential to complement glucocorticoid measurements in welfare assessments. This study aimed to develop the methodology and validate an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for quantifying IgA in feces (FIgA) of lions (<em>Panthera leo</em>), investigate excretion patterns of FIgA under baseline conditions in captive lions, and explore its relationship with fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM). Feces were collected from 11 lions housed in stable social groups at four Spanish zoos over a period of two to six weeks. FIgA was reliably quantified using a commercial EIA, with concentrations ranging from 0.28 to 794.17 μg IgA/g feces, showing substantial intra- and inter-individual variability. Females had significantly higher FIgA concentrations than males (113.10 vs 54.96 μg IgA/g feces; <em>p</em> &lt; 0.01). Additionally, FIgA concentrations varied across zoos (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.001). Positive correlations were found between FIgA and FGM for all samples combined (rho = 0.43, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) and across individual means (rho = 0.70, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), but not consistently when examining each lion separately. This study demonstrates for the first time that IgA can be reliably quantified in lion feces, paving the way for its application in welfare studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55237,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142441384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}