Analysis Tools
mortality/aging
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• mutant females exhibit accelerated reproductive ageing, as indicated by a higher incidence of irregular oestrous cycles and a lower reproductive success at 9-12 months of age
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reproductive system
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• mutant females exhibit accelerated reproductive ageing, as indicated by a higher incidence of irregular oestrous cycles and a lower reproductive success at 9-12 months of age
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• although middle-aged female mutants display significantly less regular 4-day estrous cycles than wild-type females, they exhibit more often 4-day cycles than prolonged cyclicity in 63% of the time during a 6-week observation period
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• middle-aged female mutants are acyclic for 37% of a 6-week observation period, whereas age-matched wild-type females never show acyclicity
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• unlike wild-type, middle-aged mutant females exhibit a significantly higher number of embryonic scars (implantations) in the uterus than the total number of live offspring detected at birth or at weanining, suggesting post-implantation embryo loss due to insufficient energy levels
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• after two pregnancies, middle-aged female mutants display a significantly lower number of implantations than age-matched wild-type females
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• primiparous (first parturition) wild-type and mutant females yield the same litter size as multiparous females; however, only 33.3% of multiparous mutant females breed successfully vs 90% of wild-type multiparous females
• both primiparous and multiparous middle-aged (9-12 months of age) mutant females exhibit a lower reproductive success (either fewer litters or smaller litter sizes) than middle-aged wild-type or young adult mutant females
• however, young adult mutant females (2-6 months of age) show the same success in fertility and fecundity as wild-type females
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• middle-aged (9-12 months of age) female mutants produce significantly smaller litter sizes than young adult (2-6 months of age) wild-type or mutant females
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behavior/neurological
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• unlike pregnant wild-type females which show a progressive increase in food intake that correlates positively with body mass, midlle-aged mutant females increase their daily food intake by 20% up to midterm pregnancy but with no correlation to body mass
• both wild-type and mutant females increase their food intake by 67.6 and 63.3%, respectively, up to the 16th day of lactation
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• unlike non-reproductive wild-type females which prefer 20% protein content, middle-aged non-reproductive mutant females do not display any preference to a certain protein content
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growth/size/body
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• loss of body mass after parturition is less pronounced in middle-aged mutant females than in wild-type females
• unlike lactating wild-type females, middle-aged mutant females show no significant changes in body mass over a 21-day lactation period
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• middle-aged mutant females exhibit a lower body mass than wild-type females during the non-reproductive and pregnant stages but not when they are lactating
• however, young adult female mutants have the same body mass as wild-type females
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homeostasis/metabolism
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• similar to wild-type controls, middle-aged mutant females show an increase in average daily metabolic rate (ADMR) from the non-reproductive period to the lactation period; however, during pregnancy, the ADMR of mutant females is lower than that of wild-type females
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