Basal metabolic rates in mammals: Taxonomic differences in the allometry of BMR and body mass

Hayssen, Virginia; Lacy, Robert C.

doi:10.1016/0300-9629(85)90904-1

Cited by 403 publications

(222 citation statements)

References 172 publications

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“…Conversely, mass specific BMR correlates negatively with body mass. A direct comparison of eutherian and marsupial BMR, however, suggests an approximately 25 per cent lower BMR in marsupials when compared with eutherians of a similar M [2,6,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Phylogenetic differences of mammalian basal metabolic rate are not explained by mitochondrial basal proton leak

et al. 2011

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Metabolic rates of mammals presumably increased during the evolution of endothermy, but molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying basal metabolic rate (BMR) are still not understood. It has been established that mitochondrial basal proton leak contributes significantly to BMR. Comparative studies among a diversity of eutherian mammals showed that BMR correlates with body mass and proton leak. Here, we studied BMR and mitochondrial basal proton leak in liver of various marsupial species. Surprisingly, we found that the mitochondrial proton leak was greater in marsupials than in eutherians, although marsupials have lower BMRs. To verify our finding, we kept similar-sized individuals of a marsupial opossum (Monodelphis domestica) and a eutherian rodent (Mesocricetus auratus) species under identical conditions, and directly compared BMR and basal proton leak. We confirmed an approximately 40 per cent lower mass specific BMR in the opossum although its proton leak was significantly higher (approx. 60%). We demonstrate that the increase in BMR during eutherian evolution is not based on a general increase in the mitochondrial proton leak, although there is a similar allometric relationship of proton leak and BMR within mammalian groups. The difference in proton leak between endothermic groups may assist in elucidating distinct metabolic and habitat requirements that have evolved during mammalian divergence.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Phylogenetic differences of mammalian basal metabolic rate are not explained by mitochondrial basal proton leak

et al. 2011

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“…In this case, quarterpower scaling remained following the exclusion of ruminants, because of the influence of the four data points for male and female dogs and humans. The large b value can then be attributed to the high metabolic rate of domestic carnivores (6,9,10) and humans (180-200% of that predicted by the equations described below). Calculation of b from the remaining five data points yields a value of 0.667 (r 2 ϭ 0.999).…”

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confidence: 99%

Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass^2/3

White

Seymour

2003

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

656

574

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The relationship between mammalian basal metabolic rate (BMR, ml of O 2 per h) and body mass (M, g) has been the subject of regular investigation for over a century. Typically, the relationship is expressed as an allometric equation of the form BMR ‫؍‬ aM b . The scaling exponent (b) is a point of contention throughout this body of literature, within which arguments for and against geometric (b ‫؍‬ 2/3) and quarter-power (b ‫؍‬ 3/4) scaling are made and rebutted. Recently, interest in the topic has been revived by published explanations for quarter-power scaling based on fractal nutrient supply networks and four-dimensional biology. Here, a new analysis of the allometry of mammalian BMR that accounts for variation associated with body temperature, digestive state, and phylogeny finds no support for a metabolic scaling exponent of 3/4. Data encompassing five orders of magnitude variation in M and featuring 619 species from 19 mammalian orders show that BMR ؔ M 2/3 . P ioneering work published by Max Rubner (1) in the 1880s reported that mammalian basal metabolic rate (BMR) was proportional to M 2/3 . In accordance with simple geometric and physical principles, it was therefore thought that an animal's rate of metabolic heat production was matched to the rate at which heat was dissipated through its body surface. However, Max Kleiber's influential monograph (2), published in 1932, concluded that basal metabolic rate scaled not in proportion with surface area, but with an exponent significantly greater than that of Rubner's surface law. Kleiber's work was later supported by Brody's (3) famous mouse-to-elephant curve, and an exponent of 3/4 (henceforth referred to as Kleiber's exponent) remains in widespread use. Quarter-power scaling is often regarded as ubiquitous in biology: metabolic rate has been reported as proportional to M 3/4 in organisms ranging from simple unicells to plants and endothermic vertebrates (4, 5). Kleiber's exponent has become so widely accepted that metabolic scaling relationships that deviate from an exponent of 3/4 are often considered somehow flawed or are summarily dismissed. However, examination of the species compositions of early studies (2, 3) shows that they poorly reflect Mammalia. Most data points are derived from domestic species, which have been under artificial energetic constraints for many generations (6). Additionally, the order Artiodactyla is consistently over-represented; both Kleiber's (2) and Brody's (3) data sets include Ϸ20% artiodactyls, but only Ϸ5% of Recent mammals are artiodactyls (7). Being near the upper mass limit of the regressions, these animals exert a disproportionate influence on the scaling exponent. Their inclusion is problematic, because microbial fermentation of cellulose may delay or prohibit entrance into a postabsorptive state (8). This elevates metabolic rate above basal levels and, when coupled with a large body mass, artificially inflates the calculated scaling exponent. Examination of Brody's (3) data reveals the same problems (6). Because meas...

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“…When we look at the data in Fig. 1a, however, we see that groups with a high resting metabolic rate, such as the lagomorphs (Hayssen and Lacy 1985), have a nucleotide content that is somewhat higher than expected based on their lifespan, while those with a low metabolic rate such as the Cetacaea (Bismuto et al 1984) have correspondingly reduced GC contents. This suggests that both metabolic rate and lifespan affect the mtDNA independently, with high metabolic rate combined with long lifespan having the maximal effect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

An Evolutionary Footprint of Age-Related Natural Selection in Mitochondrial DNA

Min

Hickey

2008

J Mol Evol

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By comparing mtDNA sequences between different orders of mammals, we show that both longevity and generation time are significantly correlated with the nucleotide content of the mtDNA. Specifically, there is a positive correlation between generation time and mt GC content. This correlation is repeated, at a finer evolutionary scale, within the primates. Moreover, a comparison of human and chimpanzee mtDNAs shows that the effect has been very pronounced during the short evolutionary period since the divergence of these two species, with human mtDNA showing a GC-biased pattern of substitution at the variable sites. In addition to these DNA sequence patterns, comparisons between the human and the chimp mt protein sequences also revealed a surprisingly high substitution rate for threonine residues, resulting in a reduction of threonine in the human mt proteome. These patterns of both DNA and protein evolution can be explained by a balance between AT-biased mutational pressure and agerelated purifying selection.

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Basal metabolic rates in mammals: Taxonomic differences in the allometry of BMR and body mass

Cited by 403 publications

References 172 publications

Phylogenetic differences of mammalian basal metabolic rate are not explained by mitochondrial basal proton leak

Phylogenetic differences of mammalian basal metabolic rate are not explained by mitochondrial basal proton leak

Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass^2/3

An Evolutionary Footprint of Age-Related Natural Selection in Mitochondrial DNA

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Basal metabolic rates in mammals: Taxonomic differences in the allometry of BMR and body mass

Cited by 403 publications

References 172 publications

Phylogenetic differences of mammalian basal metabolic rate are not explained by mitochondrial basal proton leak

Phylogenetic differences of mammalian basal metabolic rate are not explained by mitochondrial basal proton leak

Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass2/3

An Evolutionary Footprint of Age-Related Natural Selection in Mitochondrial DNA

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Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass^2/3