Document Detail


Interspecific Differences in Tannin Intakes of Forest-Dwelling Rodents in the Wild Revealed by a new Method Using Fecal Proline Content.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  22161223     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Mammalian herbivores adopt various countermeasures against dietary tannins, which are among the most widespread plant secondary metabolites. The large Japanese wood mouse Apodemus speciosus produces proline-rich salivary tannin-binding proteins in response to tannins. Proline-rich proteins (PRPs) react with tannins to form stable complexes that are excreted in the feces. Here, we developed a new method for estimating the tannin intake of free-living small rodents, by measuring fecal proline content, and applied the method to a field investigation. A feeding experiment with artificial diets containing various levels of tannic acid revealed that fecal proline content was clearly related to dietary tannin content in three species (A. speciosus, Apodemus argenteus, and Myodes rufocanus). We then used fecal proline content to estimate the tannin intakes of these three forest-dwelling species in a forest in Hokkaido. In the autumn, estimated tannin intakes increased significantly in the Apodemus species, but not in M. rufocanus. We speculated that an increase in tannin intake during autumn may result from consumption of tannin-rich acorns. This hypothesis was consistent with population fluctuation patterns of the three species, which were well-synchronized with acorn abundance for the Apodemus species but not for M. rufocanus.
Authors:
Takuya Shimada; Eriko Nishii; Takashi Saitoh
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Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE     Date:  2011-12-13
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of chemical ecology     Volume:  -     ISSN:  1573-1561     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2011 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-12-13     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7505563     Medline TA:  J Chem Ecol     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  -     Citation Subset:  -    
Affiliation:
Tohoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 92-25 Nabeyashiki, Shimo-Kuriyagawa, Morioka, 020-0123, Japan, tshmd@affrc.go.jp.
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