INVESTIGADORES
ZENUTO Roxana Rita
artículos
Título:
Familiarity and mating behavior in the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum (tuco-tuco)
Autor/es:
ZENUTO, ROXANA; ESTAVILLO, CANDELARIA; FANJUL, MARÍA SOL
Revista:
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
Editorial:
NCR Research Press
Referencias:
Lugar: Montreal; Año: 2007 vol. 85 p. 944 - 955
ISSN:
0008-4301
Resumen:
Hystricomorph rodents have a divergent insulin molecule with only 110% of the biological activity in
comparison to other mammalian species. In this study, we used the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum as
a model and performed blood glucose tolerance tests (GTTs) with trained and untrained individuals to
evaluate blood glucose regulation and the possible role of physical activity as a compensatory mechanism.
Additionally, we evaluated the variations in blood glucose during acute and chronic stress and gathered data
in the field to evaluate natural-occurring variations in blood glucose levels. The GTTs showed that C. talarum
have a diminished capacity of regulating blood glucose levels in comparison to other mammals and suggest
that unexplored differences in the compensatory mechanisms, insulin structure and/or glucose transporters
exist within species of hystricomorph rodents. However, blood glucose levels in the field stayed within the
normal mammalian range. Physical activity did not prove to be a compensatory mechanism for blood glucose
regulation. The individuals did not display important increases in blood glucose after acute stressors and
managed to adequately regulate blood glucose during chronic stress. We suggest that the species may not
face a selective pressure favoring a more tightly, mammalian like, capacity of regulating blood glucose level