How do animals adapt when seasons change?
Adapting to seasonal changes is crucial for survival, and many animals migrate, grow a winter coat or adjust their body temperatures to cope up. Recently, researchers from Universities of Edinburgh and Manchester found a biological switch that may be playing a major role. The study (Nature Communications, August 2020) shows how the brains of mammals respond to changes in day lengths. The researchers studied sheep brain tissue across time to understand the activity of different genes. They point to a gene known as BMAL2, which helps in synchronising their rhythms of life to the seasonal habitats. This gene has also been reported in birds and reptiles.
According to the researchers, the results constitute a blueprint for circadian-based seasonal timekeeping in vertebrates. Explaining the work, Prof. Andrew Loudon from the Centre for Biological…