Dietary linoleic acid, antioxidants, and flight training influence the activity of oxidative enzymes in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

Carter, Wales A.; DeMoranville, Kristen J.; Pierce, Barbara J.; McWilliams, Scott R.

doi:10.1007/s00360-021-01345-1

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…However, increasing flight efficiency could have many benefits including longer flights or shorter refuelling times. High intake of the n-6 PUFA 18:2 n-6 improved flight efficiency in European starlings ( Carter et al, 2020 ; McWilliams et al, 2020 ), but this is likely not the result of an increase in oxidative capacity ( Carter et al, 2021 ; Price et al, 2022 ). In humans, prolonged n-3 LCPUFA supplementation can decrease oxygen consumption during intense aerobic exercise, and could indicate lower energy use ( Hingley et al, 2017 ), but the mechanism is not fully understood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previously, the role of dietary PUFAs in migratory birds focused on the class of PUFA (n-3 versus n-6 PUFAs: Dick and Guglielmo, 2019 ; Price and Guglielmo, 2009 ) or specifically on the role of the n-6 PUFA 18:2 n-6 ( Carter et al, 2020 ; DeMoranville et al, 2021 ; Price et al, 2022 ). Generally, these studies found that dietary PUFAs have little to no influence on lipid oxidative capacity and that seasonal changes and/or exercise may have larger impacts on muscle physiology ( Carter et al, 2021 ; Dick and Guglielmo, 2019 ; Price et al, 2022 ). Although EPA and DHA are potent ligands for PPAR, other fatty acids found in our diets can also be ligands, such as 18:3 n-3 and 18:2 n-6 ( Hamilton et al, 2018 ; Mochizuki et al, 2006 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental evidence that EPA and DHA are dietary requirements in a migratory shorebird, but they do not affect muscle oxidative capacity

Dick,

Hobson,

Guglielmo

2024

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Dietary n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) are hypothesized to be natural doping agents in migratory shorebirds, enabling prolonged flight by increasing membrane fluidity and oxidative capacity of the flight muscles. Animals can obtain n-3 LCPUFA from the diet or by conversion of dietary α-linolenic acid, 18:3 n-3. However, capacity to meet n-3 LCPUFA requirements from 18:3 n-3 varies among species. Direct tests of muscle oxidative enhancement and fatty acid conversion capacity are lacking in marine shorebirds that evolved eating diets rich in n-3 LCPUFA. We tested whether the presence and type of dietary fatty acids influence the fatty acid composition and flight muscle oxidative capacity in western sandpipers (Calidris mauri). Sandpipers were fed diets low in n-3 PUFA, high in 18:3 n-3, or high in n-3 LCPUFA. Dietary fatty acid composition was reflected in multiple tissues, and low intake of n-3 LCPUFA decreased abundance of these fatty acids in all tissues, even with a high intake of 18:3 n-3. This suggests that 18:3 n-3 cannot replace n-3 LCPUFA, and dietary n-3 LCPUFA are required for sandpipers. Flight muscle indicators of enzymatic oxidative capacity and regulators of lipid metabolism did not change. However, the n-3 LCPUFA diet was associated with increased FAT/CD36 mRNA expression, potentially benefitting fatty acid transport during flight. Our study suggests that flight muscle lipid oxidation is not strongly influenced by n-3 PUFA intake. The type of dietary n-3 PUFA strongly influences the abundance of n-3 LCPUFA in the body and could still impact whole-animal performance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental evidence that EPA and DHA are dietary requirements in a migratory shorebird, but they do not affect muscle oxidative capacity

Dick,

Hobson,

Guglielmo

2024

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…High-PUFA diets are beneficial to migrating birds because they reduce the energy expenditure during long-duration flights, which are otherwise energetically demanding [ 79 , 80 ]. This benefit may be due to PUFAs increasing the amount of transport proteins and catabolic enzymes that deliver fatty acids to mitochondria [ 81 ]. Linoleic acid and other PUFAs may offer similar benefits to wintering birds facing increased energy expenditures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut microbiota of homing pigeons shows summer–winter variation under constant diet indicating a substantial effect of temperature

et al. 2022

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Background Gut microbiotas play a pivotal role in host physiology and behaviour, and may affect host life-history traits such as seasonal variation in host phenotypic state. Generally, seasonal gut microbiota variation is attributed to seasonal diet variation. However, seasonal temperature and day length variation may also drive gut microbiota variation. We investigated summer–winter differences in the gut bacterial community (GBC) in 14 homing pigeons living outdoors under a constant diet by collecting cloacal swabs in both seasons during two years. Because temperature effects may be mediated by host metabolism, we determined basal metabolic rate (BMR) and body mass. Immune competence is influenced by day length and has a close relationship with the GBC, and it may thus be a link between day length and gut microbiota. Therefore, we measured seven innate immune indices. We expected the GBC to show summer–winter differences and to correlate with metabolism and immune indices. Results BMR, body mass, and two immune indices varied seasonally, other host factors did not. The GBC showed differences between seasons and sexes, and correlated with metabolism and immune indices. The most abundant genus (Lachnoclostridium 12, 12%) and associated higher taxa, were more abundant in winter, though not significantly at the phylum level, Firmicutes. Bacteroidetes were more abundant in summer. The Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio tended to be higher in winter. The KEGG ortholog functions for fatty acid biosynthesis and linoleic acid metabolism (PICRUSt2) had increased abundances in winter. Conclusions The GBC of homing pigeons varied seasonally, even under a constant diet. The correlations between immune indices and the GBC did not involve consistently specific immune indices and included only one of the two immune indices that showed seasonal differences, suggesting that immune competence may be an unlikely link between day length and the GBC. The correlations between the GBC and metabolism indices, the higher Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio in winter, and the resemblance of the summer–winter differences in the GBC with the general temperature effects on the GBC in the literature, suggest that temperature partly drove the summer–winter differences in the GBC in homing pigeons.

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“…High-PUFA diets are beneficial to migrating birds because they reduce the energy expenditure during long-duration flights, which are otherwise energetically demanding [67,68]. This benefit may be due to PUFAs increasing the amount of transport proteins and catabolic enzymes that deliver fatty acids to mitochondria [69]. Linoleic acid and other PUFAs may offer similar benefits to wintering birds facing increased energy expenditures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut microbiota of homing pigeons shows summer-winter variation under constant diet indicating a substantial effect of temperature

Dietz

Matson

Versteegh

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background: Gut microbiotas play a pivotal role in host physiology and behaviour, and may affect host life-history traits such as seasonal variation in host phenotypic state. Generally, seasonal gut microbiota variation is attributed to seasonal diet variation. However, seasonal temperature and day length variation may also drive gut microbiota variation. We investigated summer-winter differences in gut microbiota in 14 homing pigeons living outdoors under a constant diet by collecting cloacal swabs in both seasons during two years. Because temperature effects may be mediated by host metabolism, we determined basal metabolic rate (BMR) and body mass. Immune competence is influenced by day length and has a close relationship with gut microbiota, and it may thus be a link between day length and gut microbiota. Therefore, we measured seven innate immune indices. We expected gut microbiota to show summer-winter differences and gut microbiota to correlate with metabolism and immune indices. Results: BMR, body mass, and two immune indices varied seasonally, other host factors did not. Gut microbiota showed differences between seasons and sexes, and correlated with metabolism and immune indices. The most abundant genus (Lachnoclostridium 12, 12%) and associated higher taxa, were more abundant in winter, though not significantly at the phylum level, Firmicutes. Bacteroidetes were more abundant in summer. The Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio tended to be higher in winter. The KEGG ortholog functions for fatty acid biosynthesis and linoleic acid metabolism (PICRUSt2) had increased abundances in winter. Conclusions: The gut microbiota of homing pigeons varied seasonally, even under a constant diet. The correlations between immune indices and gut microbiota did not involve consistently specific immune indices and included only one of the two immune indices that showed seasonal differences, suggesting that immune competence may be an unlikely link between day length and gut microbiota. The correlations between gut microbiota and metabolism indices, the higher Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio in winter, and the resemblance of the summer-winter differences in gut microbiota with the general temperature effects on gut microbiota in the literature, suggest that temperature partly drove the summer-winter differences in gut microbiota in homing pigeons.

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Dietary linoleic acid, antioxidants, and flight training influence the activity of oxidative enzymes in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

Cited by 7 publications

References 68 publications

Experimental evidence that EPA and DHA are dietary requirements in a migratory shorebird, but they do not affect muscle oxidative capacity

Experimental evidence that EPA and DHA are dietary requirements in a migratory shorebird, but they do not affect muscle oxidative capacity

Gut microbiota of homing pigeons shows summer–winter variation under constant diet indicating a substantial effect of temperature

Gut microbiota of homing pigeons shows summer-winter variation under constant diet indicating a substantial effect of temperature

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