|
| |
|
|
|
|
||||
| Home Help Feedback Subscriptions Archive Search Table of Contents | ||||
Gastric function and its contribution to the postprandial metabolic response of the Burmese python Python molurus
Department of Physiology, University of California at Los Angeles, School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1751, USA and Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0344, USA
(e-mail: ssecor{at}biology.as.ua.edu)
Accepted 19 February 2003
The large intact prey ingested by Burmese pythons require considerable processing by the stomach before passage into the small intestine. To investigate the function and cost of gastric digestion and its contribution to postprandial metabolic response for the Burmese python, I examined the rate of gastric digestion, the postprandial profile of gastric pH and the effects of decreasing gastric workload on the metabolic cost of digestion, referred to as specific dynamic action (SDA). Ingested meal mass (equivalent to 25% of snake body mass) was reduced by 18% within 1 day postfeeding, by which time intragastric pH had decreased from 7.5 to 2. Gastric pH was maintained at 1.5 for the next 5–7 days, after which it returned to 7.5. The SDA generated by digesting an intact rat meal was reduced by 9.1%, 26.0%, 56.5% and 66.8%, respectively, when pythons were fed steak, ground rat, liquid diet or ground rat directly infused into the small intestine. The production of HCl and enzymes and other gastric functions represent an estimated 55% of the python's SDA generated from the digestion of an intact rodent meal. Additional contributors to SDA include protein synthesis (estimated 26%), gastrointestinal upregulation (estimated 5%) and the activities of the pancreas, gallbladder, liver, kidneys and intestines during digestion (estimated 14%). Operating on a `pay before pumping' principle, pythons must expend endogenous energy in order to initiate acid production and other digestive processes before ingested nutrients can be absorbed and channeled into metabolic pathways.
Key words: reptile, snake, Python molurus, digestion, stomach, gastric pH, specific dynamic action
Related articles in JEB:
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. M. Secor Digestive physiology of the Burmese python: broad regulation of integrated performance J. Exp. Biol., December 15, 2008; 211(24): 3767 - 3774. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. M. Schneider and T. Bilde Benefits of cooperation with genetic kin in a subsocial spider PNAS, August 5, 2008; 105(31): 10843 - 10846. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. L. Cox and S. M. Secor Matched regulation of gastrointestinal performance in the Burmese python, Python molurus J. Exp. Biol., April 1, 2008; 211(7): 1131 - 1140. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. M. Christel, D. F. DeNardo, and S. M. Secor Metabolic and digestive response to food ingestion in a binge-feeding lizard, the Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) J. Exp. Biol., October 1, 2007; 210(19): 3430 - 3439. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. D. Ott and S. M. Secor Adaptive regulation of digestive performance in the genus Python J. Exp. Biol., January 15, 2007; 210(2): 340 - 356. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. K. Hartzler, S. L. Munns, A. F. Bennett, and J. W. Hicks Metabolic and blood gas dependence on digestive state in the Savannah monitor lizard Varanus exanthematicus: an assessment of the alkaline tide J. Exp. Biol., March 15, 2006; 209(6): 1052 - 1057. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Ujvari and T. Madsen Age, parasites, and condition affect humoral immune response in tropical pythons Behav. Ecol., January 1, 2006; 17(1): 20 - 24. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. J. Uriona, C. G. Farmer, J. Dazely, F. Clayton, and J. Moore Structure and function of the esophagus of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) J. Exp. Biol., August 15, 2005; 208(16): 3047 - 3053. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. M. Secor Physiological responses to feeding, fasting and estivation for anurans J. Exp. Biol., July 1, 2005; 208(13): 2595 - 2609. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. D. Clark, P. J. Butler, and P. B. Frappell Digestive state influences the heart rate hysteresis and rates of heat exchange in the varanid lizard Varanus rosenbergi J. Exp. Biol., June 15, 2005; 208(12): 2269 - 2276. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. M. Secor Evolutionary and Cellular Mechanisms Regulating Intestinal Performance of Amphibians and Reptiles Integr. Comp. Biol., April 1, 2005; 45(2): 282 - 294. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. M. Starck and C. Wimmer Patterns of blood flow during the postprandial response in ball pythons, Python regius J. Exp. Biol., March 1, 2005; 208(5): 881 - 889. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. V. Andrade, L. F. De Toledo, A. S. Abe, and T. Wang Ventilatory compensation of the alkaline tide during digestion in the snake Boa constrictor J. Exp. Biol., March 15, 2004; 207(8): 1379 - 1385. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y. P. Papastamatiou and C. G. Lowe Postprandial response of gastric pH in leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata) and its use to study foraging ecology J. Exp. Biol., January 15, 2004; 207(2): 225 - 232. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Phillips PYTHON'S DIGESTIVE WORKOUT J. Exp. Biol., May 15, 2003; 206(10): 1600 - 1600. [Full Text]
|
|
