Kletkiewicz Hanna, Kowalski Krzysztof, Kęsy Jacek, Trzeciak Paulina, Nowak Anna, Jefimow Małgorzata, Przybylska-Piech Anna
Department of Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland.
Department of Vertebrate Zoology and Ecology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland.
Proc Biol Sci. 2025 Jun;292(2049):20250819. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0819. Epub 2025 Jun 18.
Global warming and the increased frequency of unpredictable weather events may disrupt the proper timing of seasonal adjustments of a phenotype. This may lead to the deterioration of the animal's condition and shorten its lifespan. We tested whether warm spells in winter affect the baseline and stress-induced cortisol level and leukocyte relative telomere length in two winter phenotypes of Siberian hamster, , responding and non-responding to short photoperiod. We found that both phenotypes increased cortisol levels in winter and that warm spells augmented this response. Under stable cold conditions, non-responding individuals were more vulnerable to short-term stress than responding ones. However, telomere length increased, suggesting that animals have a high potential to cope with stress and prevent telomere shortening or that these two variables are not directly related. In responding individuals, the higher incidence of torpor also prevented telomeres shortening. These results indicate that both phenotypes, responding and non-responding to short photoperiod, can overcome the challenges posed by an unpredictably changing environment.
全球变暖和不可预测天气事件频率的增加可能会扰乱表型季节性调整的适当时间。这可能导致动物健康状况恶化并缩短其寿命。我们测试了冬季的温暖期是否会影响西伯利亚仓鼠两种冬季表型（对短光周期有反应和无反应）的基础皮质醇水平、应激诱导的皮质醇水平以及白细胞相对端粒长度。我们发现，两种表型在冬季都会使皮质醇水平升高，并且温暖期会增强这种反应。在稳定的寒冷条件下，无反应个体比有反应个体更容易受到短期应激的影响。然而，端粒长度增加，这表明动物具有应对压力和防止端粒缩短的高潜力，或者这两个变量没有直接关系。在有反应的个体中，蛰伏的较高发生率也阻止了端粒缩短。这些结果表明，对短光周期有反应和无反应的两种表型都可以克服不可预测的变化环境带来的挑战。
