Brain gene expression reveals pathways underlying nocturnal migratory restlessness.

ABSTRACT: Migration is one of the most extreme and energy demanding life history strategies to have evolved in the animal kingdom. In birds, champions of long-distance migrations, the seasonal emergence of the migratory phenotype is characterised by rapid physiological and metabolic remodelling, including substantial accumulation of fat stores and increases in nocturnality. The molecular underpinnings and brain adaptations to seasonal migrations remain poorly understood. Here, we exposed Common quails (Coturnix coturnix) to controlled changes in day length to simulate southward autumn migration, and then blocked the photoperiod until birds entered the non-migratory wintering phase. We first performed de novo RNA-Sequencing from selected brain samples (hypothalamus) collected from birds at a standard

SUBMITTER: Marasco V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11439032 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature