Müller Jacqueline, Clauss Marcus, Codron Daryl, Schulz Ellen, Hummel Jürgen, Fortelius Mikael, Kircher Patrick, Hatt Jean-Michel
Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
J Exp Zool A Ecol Genet Physiol. 2014 Jun;321(5):283-98. doi: 10.1002/jez.1864. Epub 2014 Apr 2.
Although patterns of tooth wear are crucial in palaeo-reconstructions, and dental wear abnormalities are important in veterinary medicine, experimental investigations on the relationship between diet abrasiveness and tooth wear are rare. Here, we investigated the effect of four different pelleted diets of increasing abrasiveness (due to both internal [phytoliths] and external abrasives [sand]) or whole grass hay fed for 2 weeks each in random order to 16 rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) on incisor and premolar growth and wear, and incisor and cheek tooth length. Wear and tooth length differed between diets, with significant effects of both internal and external abrasives. While diet abrasiveness was linked to tooth length for all tooth positions, whole forage had an additional effect on upper incisor length only. Tooth growth was strongly related to tooth wear and differed correspondingly between diets and tooth positions. At 1.4-3.2 mm/week, the growth of cheek teeth measured in this study was higher than previously reported for rabbits. Dental abnormalities were most distinct on the diet with sand. This study demonstrates that concepts of constant tooth growth in rabbits requiring consistent wear are inappropriate, and that diet form (whole vs. pelleted) does not necessarily affect cheek teeth. Irrespective of the strong effect of external abrasives, internal abrasives have the potential to induce wear and hence exert selective pressure in evolution. Detailed differences in wear effects between tooth positions allow inferences about the mastication process. Elucidating feedback mechanisms that link growth to tooth-specific wear represents a promising area of future research.
尽管牙齿磨损模式在古重建中至关重要，牙齿磨损异常在兽医学中也很重要，但关于饮食磨蚀性与牙齿磨损之间关系的实验研究却很少。在此，我们以随机顺序用四种磨蚀性递增的不同颗粒饲料（由于内部[植硅体]和外部磨料[沙子]）或全草干草分别喂养16只家兔（穴兔）两周，研究其对门齿和前磨牙生长与磨损以及门齿和颊齿长度的影响。不同饲料间的磨损和牙齿长度存在差异，内部和外部磨料均有显著影响。虽然所有牙齿位置的饮食磨蚀性都与牙齿长度有关，但全草料仅对上门齿长度有额外影响。牙齿生长与牙齿磨损密切相关，且在不同饲料和牙齿位置间存在相应差异。本研究中测量的颊齿生长速度为每周1.4 - 3.2毫米，高于此前报道的家兔生长速度。在含沙饲料上，牙齿异常最为明显。本研究表明，认为家兔牙齿持续生长需要持续磨损的观点并不恰当，且饲料形式（全草料与颗粒料）不一定会影响颊齿。尽管外部磨料影响强烈，但内部磨料也有导致磨损的可能，从而在进化过程中施加选择压力。牙齿位置间磨损效应的详细差异有助于推断咀嚼过程。阐明将生长与特定牙齿磨损联系起来的反馈机制是未来研究的一个有前景的领域。
