Produção Nacional
Revisado por pares
Modeling Natural Photic Entrainment in a Subterranean Rodent (Ctenomys aff. knighti), the Tuco-Tuco
2013; Public Library of Science; Volume: 8; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1371/journal.pone.0068243
ISSN1932-6203
AutoresDanilo E. F. L. Flôres, Barbara M. Tomotani, Patrícia Tachinardi, Gisele A. Oda, Verónica S. Valentinuzzi,
Tópico(s)Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
ResumoSubterranean rodents spend most of the day inside underground tunnels, where there is little daily change in environmental variables. Our observations of tuco-tucos (Ctenomys aff. knighti) in a field enclosure indicated that these animals perceive the aboveground light-dark cycle by several bouts of light-exposure at irregular times during the light hours of the day. To assess whether such light-dark pattern acts as an entraining agent of the circadian clock, we first constructed in laboratory the Phase Response Curve for 1 h light-pulses (1000lux). Its shape is qualitatively similar to other curves reported in the literature and to our knowledge it is the first Phase Response Curve of a subterranean rodent. Computer simulations were performed with a non-linear limit-cycle oscillator subjected to a simple model of the light regimen experienced by tuco-tucos. Results showed that synchronization is achieved even by a simple regimen of a single daily light pulse scattered uniformly along the light hours of the day. Natural entrainment studies benefit from integrated laboratory, field and computational approaches.
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