Current practices in a captive breeding colony of 13-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus)

Lab Animal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (11) ◽  
pp. 315-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana K. Merriman ◽  
Garet Lahvis ◽  
Michelle Jooss ◽  
Jon A. Gesicki ◽  
Kelly Schill
Keyword(s):  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Breeding Colony ◽  
Ictidomys Tridecemlineatus ◽  
Current Practices

Oestrous cycle and gestation length in the musky rat-kangaroo, Hypsiprymnodon moschatus (Potoroidae : Marsupialia)

2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Reproductive Physiology ◽  
Oestrous Cycle ◽  
Gestation Length ◽  
Vaginal Smears ◽  
Breeding Colony ◽  
Male And Female

Wild-caught male and female H. moschatus were maintained in a captive breeding colony. Vaginal smears were taken three times a week until oestrous cycles were detected and gestation lengths approximated. Thereafter, smears were usually taken daily when oestrus was expected. The gestation period (considered to be the number of days from the detection of sperm in the smear until the day young were found in the pouch) was found to last 19 days. Sperm were usually detected in the smear two days before the influx of semi-cornified and cornified epithelial cells, which occurred 17 days before parturition. A pre- or post-partum oestrus was not detected and females did not return to oestrus until at least 6 days after the removal of the last pouch young. H. moschatus has the shortest recorded gestation for any macropod, and gestation occupies approximately 75% of the oestrous cycle. The reproductive physiology of H. moschatus is similar to that of most phalangerids, which may be indicative of a common ancestor.

Pathological and Microbiological Study of Mortality in a Captive Breeding Colony of the Endangered Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (Dryococelus australis)

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 719-730
Author(s):  
Christine Bayley ◽  
Christina Cheng ◽  
Michael Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Positive Culture ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Stick Insect ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Breeding Colony ◽  
Lord Howe Island ◽  
Stick Insects ◽  
Gross Lesions ◽  
Increased Susceptibility

The authors describe pathological and microbiological features of mortalities in a captive breeding colony of Lord Howe Island stick insects ( Dryococelus australis) over a period of 18 months. There were 2 peaks of mortality in this period. In the first, insects presented dead with minimal premonitory signs of illness. In the second, affected insects were ataxic with contracted limbs and inability to climb or right themselves. Gross lesions were uncommon but included pigmented plaques on the gut and cloacal prolapse. Histological lesions in both outbreaks indicated a cellular innate immune response including nodulation characterized by Gram-negative bacterial bacilli entrapped within nodules of pigmented hemocytes, and melanization characterized by melanin within hemocyte nodules and around bacteria. Hemolymph culture findings varied and often yielded a mixed growth. Pure growth of Serratia marcescens was cultured in 44% of animals in Outbreak 1, while pure growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was cultured in 30% of animals in Outbreak 2. Cases with S. marcescens-positive culture often showed inflammation at the foregut-midgut junction. The frequency of mixed bacterial culture results did not allow firm conclusions about causality to be made, and may indicate primary bacterial infection or increased susceptibility to hemolymph colonization with an opportunistic pathogen. These findings highlight the utility of histopathology combined with ancillary testing when investigating mortality in captive insect colonies.

The association between increasing levels of O-GlcNAc and galectins in the liver tissue of hibernating thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus)

2020 ◽  
Vol 381 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Komal A. Jariwala ◽  
Ali A. Sherazi ◽  
Rada Tazhitdinova ◽  
Kathryn Shum ◽  
Philipp Guevorguian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liver Tissue ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Ictidomys Tridecemlineatus

scholarly journals Changes in the phosphoproteome of brown adipose tissue during hibernation in the ground squirrel, Ictidomys tridecemlineatus

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 462-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaëtan Herinckx ◽  
Nusrat Hussain ◽  
Fred R. Opperdoes ◽  
Kenneth B. Storey ◽  
Mark H. Rider ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Protein Expression ◽  
Brown Adipose Tissue ◽  
Protein Phosphorylation ◽  
Matrix Protein ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Ictidomys Tridecemlineatus ◽  
Brown Adipose ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Mammalian Hibernation

Mammalian hibernation is characterized by metabolic rate depression and a strong decrease in core body temperature that together create energy savings such that most species do not have to eat over the winter months. Brown adipose tissue (BAT), a thermogenic tissue that uses uncoupled mitochondrial respiration to generate heat instead of ATP, plays a major role in rewarming from deep torpor. In the present study we developed a label-free liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) strategy to investigate both differential protein expression and protein phosphorylation in BAT extracts from euthermic vs. hibernating ground squirrels ( Ictidomys tridecemlineatus). In particular, we incorporated the filter-assisted sample preparation protocol, which provides a more in-depth analysis compared with gel-based and other LC-MS proteomics approaches. Surprisingly, mitochondrial membrane and matrix protein expression in BAT was largely constant between active euthermic squirrels and their hibernating counterparts. Validation by immunoblotting confirmed that the protein levels of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes were largely unchanged in hibernating vs. euthermic animals. On the other hand, phosphoproteomics revealed that pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) phosphorylation increased during squirrel hibernation, confirmed by immunoblotting with phospho-specific antibodies. PDH phosphorylation leads to its inactivation, which suggests that BAT carbohydrate oxidation is inhibited during hibernation. Phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) was also found to increase during hibernation, suggesting that HSL would be active in BAT to produce the fatty acids that are likely the primary fuel for thermogenesis upon arousal. Increased perilipin phosphorylation along with that of a number of other proteins was also revealed, emphasizing the importance of protein phosphorylation as a regulatory mechanism during mammalian hibernation.

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