Evolution: bacteria help ground squirrels hibernate (Evolution)

by David Turell , Monday, March 21, 2022, 18:46 (767 days ago) @ David Turell

They help in the gut:

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/gut-microbes-help-ground-squirrels-endure-hi...

"By breaking down urea, the animals’ gut bacteria recycle nitrogen, which can be then used to build new molecules during prolonged fasting.

"How ground squirrels spend half of the year curled up without eating a thing and yet manage to maintain their protein balance, barely losing any muscle mass, has been a long-standing mystery. This is particularly remarkable given that prolonged periods of inactivity and fasting lead mammals’ bodies to get some energy by breaking down muscle proteins—a process known as muscle wasting.

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"A study published in Science today (January 27) offers a clue to this phenomenon: bacteria residing in the gut of thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) convert urea, a molecule that accumulates during muscle wasting, into nitrogen that can be used to build new proteins, potentially counteracting muscle loss.

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"Urea nitrogen recycling performed by microbes is particularly well understood in ruminants. Cattle, for instance, live on a relatively low-protein diet, says University of Wisconsin-Madison physiologist Hannah Carey, yet they “can grow big muscles” thanks to gut microbes that are able to convert urea into bioavailable forms of nitrogen. (my bold)

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"Sommer, who in 2016 reported the presence of seasonal bacteria potentially beneficial to hibernating brown bears, says that these new findings show that “there is an interplay” between the host and its intestinal microbiota “that allows specific adaptations” to hibernation." (my bold)

Comment: As noted previously, here is another example of the importance of bacteria, who are at the war on each other, that dhw needlessly worries about. Bacteria contribute to so many aspects of comfortable living, it would take a book to describe all of their contributions. Life started with bacteria and we can't live without them. Note the bolds