Dear MARMAM,

My coauthors and I are happy to announce the recent publication of our manuscript regarding sea otter skeletal muscle metabolism in Science:

Skeletal muscle thermogenesis enables aquatic life in the smallest marine mammal

By: Traver Wright, Randall W. Davis, Heidi C. Pearson, Michael Murray, Melinda Sheffield-Moore

SCIENCE 09 July 2021: 223-225

 

Abstract

Basal metabolic rate generally scales with body mass in mammals, and variation from predicted levels indicates adaptive metabolic remodeling. As a thermogenic adaptation for living in cool water, sea otters have a basal metabolic rate approximately three times that of the predicted rate; however, the tissue-level source of this hypermetabolism is unknown. Because skeletal muscle is a major determinant of whole-body metabolism, we characterized respiratory capacity and thermogenic leak in sea otter muscle. Compared with that of previously sampled mammals, thermogenic muscle leak capacity was elevated and could account for sea otter hypermetabolism. Muscle respiratory capacity was modestly elevated and reached adult levels in neonates. Premature metabolic development and high leak rate indicate that sea otter muscle metabolism is regulated by thermogenic demand and is the source of basal hypermetabolism.

 

Available at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6551/223

DOI: 10.1126/science.abf4557

 

Sincerely,

Tray

 

Traver Wright, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

Department of Health and Kinesiology

Texas A&M University

675 John Kimbrough Blvd

College Station, TX 77843-4253

(409) 692-4120