ArticleJournal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology2017
Beyond thermoregulation: metabolic function of cetacean blubber in migrating bowhead and beluga whales.
Article in Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Two Decades of Cetacean Population Status and Mortality in Thailand: Spatiotemporal Trends, Environmental Drivers, and Anthropogenic Stressors.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Validation of aerial photogrammetry methods to measure body size, condition and mass in small cetaceans.The Journal of physiology · 2026Article
- Assessing the Relationship Between Blubber Thickness and Adipocyte Size in Beluga Whales.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Endangered bowhead whales might buffer climate change with individual variability in movement patterns.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Optimized methods for obtaining sequencing-quality RNA from blubber of free-ranging cetaceans collected under field conditions.Conservation physiology · 2026Article
- Comparative genomic studies on the TGF-β superfamily in blue whale.Mammalian genome : official journal of the International Mammalian Genome Society · 2024Article
- Comprehensive expression analysis of hormone-like substances in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of the common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Proteome profiling reveals opportunities to investigate biomarkers of oxidative stress and immune responses in blubber biopsies from free-ranging baleen whales.Conservation physiology · 2024Article
- Microvascular anatomy suggests varying aerobic activity levels in the adipose tissues of diving tetrapods.Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology · 2022Article
- Comprehensive molecular and morphological resolution of blubber stratification in a deep-diving, fasting-adapted seal.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- Multi-Omics Approaches and Radiation on Lipid Metabolism in Toothed Whales.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Lifespan Extension in Long-Lived Vertebrates Rooted in Ecological Adaptation.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Review
- Comparative genomics of cetartiodactyla: energy metabolism underpins the transition to an aquatic lifestyle.Conservation physiology · 2021Article
- Evaluating cetacean body condition; a review of traditional approaches and new developments.Ecology and evolution · 2020Review
- Timing is everything: Drivers of interannual variability in blue whale migration.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Article
- A blubber gene expression index for evaluating stress in marine mammals.Conservation physiology · 2020Article
- On the Molecular Evolution of Leptin, Leptin Receptor, and Endospanin.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The processes of lipid deposition and utilization, via the gene leptin (Lep), are poorly understood in taxa with varying degrees of adipose storage. This study examines how these systems may have adapted in marine aquatic environments inhabited by cetaceans. Bowhead (Balaena mysticetus) and beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are ideal study animals-they possess large subcutaneous adipose stores (blubber) and undergo bi-annual migrations concurrent with variations in food availability. To answer long-standing questions regarding how (or if) energy and lipid utilization adapted to aquatic stressors, we quantified variations in gene transcripts critical to lipid metabolism related to season, age, and blubber depth. We predicted leptin tertiary structure conservation and assessed inter-specific variations in Lep transcript numbers between bowheads and other mammals. Our study is the first to identify seasonal and age-related variations in Lep and lipolysis in these cetaceans. While Lep transcripts and protein oscillate with season in adult bowheads reminiscent of hibernating mammals, transcript levels reach up to 10 times higher in bowheads than any other mammal. Data from immature bowheads are consistent with the hypothesis that short baleen inhibits efficient feeding. Lipolysis transcripts also indicate young Fall bowheads and those sampled during Spring months limit energy utilization. These novel data from rarely examined species expand the existing knowledge and offer unique insight into how the regulation of Lep and lipolysis has adapted to permit seasonal deposition and maintain vital blubber stores.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.