A vertebrate model of extreme physiological regulation (original) (raw)

Nature volume 395, pages 659–662 (1998) Cite this article

Abstract

Investigation of vertebrate regulatory biology is restricted by the modest response amplitudes in mammalian model species that derive from a lifestyle of frequent small meals. By contrast, ambush-hunting snakes eat huge meals after long intervals. In juvenile pythons during feeding, there are large and rapid increases in metabolism and secretion, in the activation of enzymes and transporter proteins, and in tissue growth. These responses enable an economic hypothesis concerning the evolution of regulation to be tested. Combined with other experimental advantages, these features recommend juvenile pythons as the equivalent of a squid axon in vertebrate regulatory biology.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the NIH. We gratefully acknowledge our many collaborators named in our previous publications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, University of California Medical School, Los Angeles, 90095-1751, California, USA
    Stephen M. Secor & Jared Diamond

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  1. Stephen M. Secor
  2. Jared Diamond

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Correspondence toStephen M. Secor.

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Secor, S., Diamond, J. A vertebrate model of extreme physiological regulation.Nature 395, 659–662 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/27131

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