Short and long-term consequences of heat exposure on mitochondrial metabolism in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)

Short and long-term consequences of heat exposure on mitochondrial metabolism in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Short and long-term consequences of heat exposure on mitochondrial metabolism in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) Hector Pacheco-Fuentes, Riccardo Ton, Simon C. Griffith This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2083090/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Mar, 2023 Read the published version in Oecologia → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Understanding the consequences of heat exposure on mitochondrial function is crucial as mitochondria lie at the core of metabolic processes, also affecting population dynamics. In adults, mitochondrial metabolism varies with temperature but can also depend on thermal conditions experienced during development. We exposed zebra finches to two alternative heat-treatments during early development; “constant”, maintained birds at ambient 35°C from parental pair formation to fledglings’ independence, while “periodic” heated broods at 40°C, six hours daily at nestling stage. Two years later, we acclimated birds from both experiments at 25°C for 21 days, before exposing them to artificial heat (40°C, five hours daily for ten days). After both conditions we measured red blood cells’ mitochondrial metabolism using a high-resolution respirometer. We found significantly decreased mitochondrial metabolism for Routine, Oxidative Phosphorylation (OxPhos) and Electron Transport System maximum capacity (ETS) after the heat-treatments. Additionally, the birds exposed to “constant” heat in early life showed lower oxygen consumption at the proton leak (Leak) stage after the heat treatment as adults. Females showed higher mitochondrial respiration for Routine, ETS and Leak independently of treatments, while this pattern was reversed for OxPhos coupling efficiency (OxCE). Our results show that short-term acclimation involved reduced mitochondrial respiration, and that the reaction of adult birds to heat depends on the intensity, pattern and duration of temperature conditions experienced at early-life stages. Our study provides insight into the complexity underlying variation in mitochondrial metabolism and raises questions on the adaptive value of long-lasting physiological adjustments triggered by the early-life thermal environment. acclimation carry-over effects developmental programming heatwave metabolic rates Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Full Text Supplementary Files 2022.09.20PachecoFuentesetalESM.pdf 2022.09.20PachecoFuentesetalESMAppendix1.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Mar, 2023 Read the published version in Oecologia → Version 1 posted Reviewers invited by journal 22 Oct, 2022 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Oct, 2022 Editor assigned by journal 21 Sep, 2022 First submitted to journal 19 Sep, 2022 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-2083090","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":142793477,"identity":"51086e97-c46e-46cc-a3a9-49e2c2afd549","order_by":0,"name":"Hector Pacheco-Fuentes","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1586-2474","institution":"Macquarie University","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hector","middleName":"","lastName":"Pacheco-Fuentes","suffix":""},{"id":142793478,"identity":"204d0335-a59b-49f8-95dc-287769bf348c","order_by":1,"name":"Riccardo Ton","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Macquarie University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Riccardo","middleName":"","lastName":"Ton","suffix":""},{"id":142793479,"identity":"535c6787-7dad-4e59-ab49-95e37322d30f","order_by":2,"name":"Simon C. Griffith","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Macquarie University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Simon","middleName":"C.","lastName":"Griffith","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2022-09-20 04:49:46","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2083090/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2083090/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05344-7","type":"published","date":"2023-03-10T19:32:42+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":27616744,"identity":"36dee118-b54e-45cd-a12c-83fdc6e74446","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-10-11 14:30:20","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":160631,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEarly life treatments scheme, showing the (A) periodic heat experiment, where zebra finches broods were heated during the nestling stage with conductive hot plates (40 ± 0.2°C; mean temperature ± SE) for six hours day (i.e. periodic heat, red dashed line), and experienced a mean ambient temperature of 13.21 ± 0.38°C during the 18 hours of the day they were not receiving the treatment (i.e. rest temperature, green line). A group of nestlings from other broods were maintained at ambient temperature (21.5 ± 1.84°C) as controls (turquoise line); and (B) constant heat experiment, where the birds were kept at the constant temperature of either 18.5 ± 0.04°C (i.e. control room, blue line), or 34.7 ± 0.01°C (i.e. hot room, orange line) from pair formation to independence.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2083090/v1/76d789c13e9bd4f3d474c080.jpg"},{"id":27616243,"identity":"608d4dab-61d8-4ecd-9d71-064088d37514","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-10-11 14:25:20","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":142930,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffects on (A) mitochondrial respiration stages of adult zebra finches, measured post-acclimation at 25°C and after ten days of heat-treatment at 40°C, where Routine represents the basal mitochondrial physiological activity; Leak the mitochondrial respiration backwards proton flow from membrane to mitochondrial matrix; OxPhos the mitochondrial respiration stage associated with ATP production; ETS the mitochondrial maximum respiratory capacity; and (B) mitochondrial flux ratios, where FCRR/ETS represents the mitochondrial reserve capacity; and OxCE its OxPhos coupling efficiency. Dots and bars indicate mass independent mean oxygen consumption ± SE.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2083090/v1/2aa8dd4b8bb657a50bde04de.jpg"},{"id":27616242,"identity":"b675c221-56da-4ced-8b18-dcc878918939","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-10-11 14:25:20","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":127106,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eInteraction between early life temperature conditions, and exposure to different temperatures (25 and 40°C) in adulthood for (A) Leak (the backwards proton flow across the membrane into the mitochondrial matrix during respiration), (B) FCRR/ETS (the amount of extra ATP produced by oxidative phosphorylation to match an increase in energy demand), (C) Routine (basal mitochondrial oxygen consumption), and (D) OxCE (oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) coupling efficiency). Dots and bars indicate mass independent mean oxygen consumption ± SE for each early life treatment, while lines show the magnitude and direction of change in mitochondrial respiration between the different treatments that birds received during their adulthood.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2083090/v1/b41f06c7ade071ff6d5feaed.jpg"},{"id":27616799,"identity":"0414ce91-6630-478a-9323-56f8c98cddfa","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-10-11 14:30:31","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":459299,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"2022.09.20PachecoFuentesetalManuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2083090/v1_covered.pdf"},{"id":27616244,"identity":"ac3e1cf1-03c7-4070-a2df-c6f08f4dd91b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-10-11 14:25:20","extension":"pdf","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1539509,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"2022.09.20PachecoFuentesetalESM.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2083090/v1/c8b6a521e31fd8efa404ac8d.pdf"},{"id":27616245,"identity":"24e3df4e-3ba0-4049-9a72-563c4dec74c3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-10-11 14:25:20","extension":"pdf","order_by":6,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":228785,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"2022.09.20PachecoFuentesetalESMAppendix1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2083090/v1/85d20fdd958d310fad97a039.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Short and long-term consequences of heat exposure on mitochondrial metabolism in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)","fulltext":[{"header":"Full Text","content":"This preprint is available for \u003ca href='/article/rs-2083090/latest.pdf' target='_blank'\u003edownload as a PDF\u003c/a\u003e."}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"oecologia","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"oeco","sideBox":"Learn more about [Oecologia](https://www.springer.com/journal/442)","snPcode":"442","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/442/3","title":"Oecologia","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"acclimation, carry-over effects, developmental programming, heatwave, metabolic rates","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2083090/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2083090/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Understanding the consequences of heat exposure on mitochondrial function is crucial as mitochondria lie at the core of metabolic processes, also affecting population dynamics. In adults, mitochondrial metabolism varies with temperature but can also depend on thermal conditions experienced during development. We exposed zebra finches to two alternative heat-treatments during early development; “constant”, maintained birds at ambient 35°C from parental pair formation to fledglings’ independence, while “periodic” heated broods at 40°C, six hours daily at nestling stage. Two years later, we acclimated birds from both experiments at 25°C for 21 days, before exposing them to artificial heat (40°C, five hours daily for ten days). After both conditions we measured red blood cells’ mitochondrial metabolism using a high-resolution respirometer. We found significantly decreased mitochondrial metabolism for Routine, Oxidative Phosphorylation (OxPhos) and Electron Transport System maximum capacity (ETS) after the heat-treatments. Additionally, the birds exposed to “constant” heat in early life showed lower oxygen consumption at the proton leak (Leak) stage after the heat treatment as adults. Females showed higher mitochondrial respiration for Routine, ETS and Leak independently of treatments, while this pattern was reversed for OxPhos coupling efficiency (OxCE). Our results show that short-term acclimation involved reduced mitochondrial respiration, and that the reaction of adult birds to heat depends on the intensity, pattern and duration of temperature conditions experienced at early-life stages. Our study provides insight into the complexity underlying variation in mitochondrial metabolism and raises questions on the adaptive value of long-lasting physiological adjustments triggered by the early-life thermal environment.","manuscriptTitle":"Short and long-term consequences of heat exposure on mitochondrial metabolism in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2022-10-11 14:25:18","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2083090/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2022-10-22T09:11:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2022-10-09T00:30:05+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2022-09-21T07:43:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Oecologia","date":"2022-09-20T00:48:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"oecologia","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"oeco","sideBox":"Learn more about [Oecologia](https://www.springer.com/journal/442)","snPcode":"442","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/442/3","title":"Oecologia","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"72ad929d-7a99-4026-9fab-c7b4de93d91c","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 11th, 2022","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2023-10-16T19:39:10+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-2083090","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05344-7","journal":{"identity":"oecologia","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Oecologia"},"publishedOn":"2023-03-10 19:32:42","publishedOnDateReadable":"March 10th, 2023"},"versionCreatedAt":"2022-10-11 14:25:18","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s00442-023-05344-7","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05344-7","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-2083090","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-2083090","identity":"rs-2083090","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"7rjqhiLT3MXkJMwkYKINL","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}