Molecular changes associated with migratory departure from wintering areas in obligate songbird migrants
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Date
2021-04
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Abstract
Day length regulates the development of spring migratory and
subsequent reproductive phenotypes in avian migrants. This study
used molecular approaches, and compared mRNA and proteome
wide expression in captive redheaded buntings that were
photostimulated under long-day (LD) conditions for 4 days (early
stimulated, LD-eS) or for ∼3 weeks until each bird had shown 4
successive nights of Zugunruhe (stimulated, LD-S); controls were
maintained under short days. After ∼3 weeks of LD, photostimulated
indices of the migratory preparedness (fattening, weight gain and
Zugunruhe) were paralleled with upregulated expression of acc,
dgat2 and apoa1 genes in the liver, and of cd36, fabp3 and cpt1
genes in the flight muscle, suggesting enhanced fatty acid (FA)
synthesis and transport in the LD-S state. Concurrently, elevated
expression of genes involved in the calcium ion signalling and
transport (camk1 and atp2a2; camk2a in LD-eS), cellular stress
(hspa8 and sod1, not nos2) and metabolic pathways (apoa1 and
sirt1), but not of genes associated with migratory behaviour (adcyap1
and vps13a), were found in the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH).
Further, MBH-specific quantitative proteomics revealed that out of
503 annotated proteins, 28 were differentially expressed (LD-eS
versus LD-S: 21 up-regulated and 7 down-regulated) and they
enriched five physiological pathways that are associated with FA
transport and metabolism. Thesefirst comprehensiveresults ongene
and protein expression suggest that changes in molecular correlates
of FA transport and metabolism may aid the decision for migratory
departure from wintering areas in obligate songbird migrants.