Selective breeding for high levels of voluntary exercise in mice does not reduce lifetime reproductive success or lifespan

• DOI: 10.1152/physiol.2024.39.s1.977
• Publication Date: 2024-05-21T14:57:50Z
• Authors: Natalie Whitehead; Nicole Schwartz; Haley Cabrera; Matthew Kim; Lucas Pineiro; William Lampman; Natalie Holt
• Keywords: Turnover

The ways locomotor abilities may interact with life history traits are complicated and involve shifts in resource allocation. For example, individuals that have large litters reduced energy available to support the organ systems required for high performance abilities. Alternatively, spent on excess physical activity might subtract from somatic maintenance, thus be negatively related lifespan or other fitness components contribute lifetime reproductive success (LRS). We studied successes, span, health span mice a long-term (>100 generations) artificial selection experiment includes 4 replicate High Runner (HR) lines bred voluntary wheels serve as non-selected Controls (C). Since reaching limits at around generation 17-27 (depending line sex), HR been running ~3-fold farther daily basis compared C mice, both sexes, which leads substantially increased expenditure food consumption. Importantly, when housed without wheels, not only more active, but also consume than mice. In present study, we tested differences LRS between lines. comparing (median, maximum) healthspan (e.g., by measurement of maximal oxygen consumption [VO 2 max] during forced exercise sprint speed. Twelve male-female pairs per 97 (born Oct. 2021) being maintained until their end life. addition total number pups weaned pair, record LRS, such age first last litter pairs, litters, inter-birth intervals. Here, subset results through 2+ years experiment. Only two 100 never gave birth any 89 least one litter. born ranged 0 12, pup was 11, mean 3.96+0.73 (SE) 3.43+0.65 (P=0.61). (our measure LRS) 80, 29.1+8.1 25.8+4.4 (P=0.73). Thus, found no evidence Darwinian has exercise. As 1 Nov. 2023, approximately 17% breeders still alive, preliminary analyses do indicate significant median maximum lifespan. Supported U.S. National Science Foundation grant IOS-2038528. This is full abstract presented American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting HTML format. There additional versions content this abstract. involved peer review process.