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Flight Training And Dietary Antioxidants have Mixed Effects On The Oxidative Status of Multiple Tissues In A Female Migratory Songbird
Biology Faculty Publications
  • Abigail E. Frawley, University of Rhode Island
  • Kristen J. DeMoranville, University of Rhode Island
  • Katherine M. Carbeck, University of British Columbia
  • Lisa Trost, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology
  • Amadeusz Bryla, Jagiellonian University, Poland
  • Maciej Dzialo, Jagiellonian University, Poland
  • Edyta T. Sadowska, Jagiellonian University, Poland
  • Ulf Bauchinger, Jagiellonian University, Poland
  • Barbara J. Pierce, Sacred Heart University
  • Scott R. McWilliams, University of Rhode Island
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
11-1-2021
Disciplines
Abstract

Birds, like other vertebrates, rely on a robust antioxidant system to protect themselves against oxidative imbalance caused by energy-intensive activities such as flying. Such oxidative challenges may be especially acute for females during spring migration, since they must pay the oxidative costs of flight while preparing for reproduction; however, little previous work has examined how the antioxidant system of female spring migrants responds to dietary antioxidants and the oxidative challenges of regular flying. We fed two diets to female European starlings, one supplemented with a dietary antioxidant and one without, and then flew them daily in a windtunnel for two weeks during the fall and spring migration periods. We measured the activity of enzymatic antioxidants (GPx, SOD, CAT), non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity (ORAC), and markers of oxidative damage (protein carbonyls and lipid hydroperoxides) in four tissues: pectoralis, leg, liver, and heart. Dietary antioxidants affected enzymatic antioxidant activity and lipid damage in the heart, non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity in the pectoralis, and protein damage in leg muscle. In general, birds fed less antioxidants appear to incur increased oxidative damage while upregulating non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidant activity, though these effects were strongly tissue-specific. We also found trends for diet x training interactions for enzymatic antioxidant activity in the heart and leg. Flight-training may condition the antioxidant system of females to dynamically respond to oxidative challenges, and females during spring migration may shift antioxidant allocation to reduce oxidative damage.

Comments

Online ahead of print 11 October 2021.

Posting on author's website: Any version, including final published PDF, provided that the article has already been published in the journal. Must link to the published article on The Company of Biologists’ journal website.

Posting on institutional repository: 12 months after publication unless otherwise mandated. Any version, including final published PDF. Must link to the published article on The Company of Biologists’ Journal website.

DOI
10.1242/jeb.243158
PubMed ID
34632505
Citation Information

Frawley, A. E., DeMoranville, K. J., Carbeck, K. M., Trost, L., Bryła, A., Działo, M., Sadowska, E. T., Bauchinger, U., Pierce, B. J., & McWilliams, S. R. (2021). Flight training and dietary antioxidants have mixed effects on the oxidative status of multiple tissues in a female migratory songbird. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 224(21):jeb243158. Doi: 10.1242/jeb.243158