Samantha Neveu

BIO 458: Comparative Animal Physiology

11/10/15
Assignment #4

Physiological Adaptations of Deer Mice (Peromyscus) in Response to Reduced

Atmospheric PO2

High altitude species are affected by many environmental stressors, including

hypoxia. Environmental hypoxia (reduced atmospheric PO 2), causes physiological
(arterial) hypoxiawhich is the condition that not enough oxygen is being supplied to
the bodily tissues. The low atmospheric PO2 can have negative effects on the aerobic
metabolism of animals that live at high elevations. However, high-altitude species have
certain adaptations that help counteract this stress. The deer mouse (Peromyscus) has
commonly been used to study adaptations in species that live at high-altitudes because
this mammal is known to live both in high and low elevations.
Larger lung mass and lung volume is observed in deer mice that live at high
altitudes. A larger lung mass and volume means that there is more surface area for gas
exchange to occur. With an increase of surface area, the diffusion ability of O 2
increases as well (Shirkey and Hammond 2014).
Response to low PO2 in the atmosphere will cause hyperventilation (increased
breathing rate). This increases the uptake of oxygen and the loss of CO 2 from the blood.
However, chronic exposure to a hypoxic environment will cause the ventilation rate to
slow back down. Instead, changes in blood chemistry will change to counteract the
hypoxic environment (Hammond et al. 2002).

Chronic hypoxia also stimulates the release of erythropoietin, which activates the
production of red blood cells. Mice at high elevations showed an increase in their RBC
count (which coincides with an increase in hematocrit and hemoglobin). The increased
erythropoietin production leads to secondary erythrocytosis, which enables the mice to
have an increased O2 concentration in their blood (Hammond et al. 2002).
One of most significant physiological adaptations of deer mice is their
hemoglobin polymorphisms. Mutations in four of their hemoglobin genes have been
discovered. These mutations have been greatly studied because of their ability to help
deer mice live at high altitudes. These mutations increase hemoglobins affinity towards
oxygen. This increased affinity helps oxygen bind to hemoglobin, even when the
concentration of oxygen is low in the environment (Storz et al. 2009).

References
Hammond, K.A., M.A., Chappell, and D.M. Kristan. 2002. Developmental
plasticity in aerobic performance in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). Comparative
Biochemistry and Physiology. 213224.
Shirkey, N.J. and K.A. Hammond. 2014. The relationship between
cardiopulmonary size and aerobic performance in adult deer mice at high altitude. The
Journal of Experimental Biology. 217: 37583764.
Storz, J.F., A.M. Runck, S.J. Sabatino, J.K. Kelly, N. Ferrand, H. Moriyama, R.E.
Weber, and A. Fago. 2009. Evolutionary and functional insights into the mechanism
underlying high-altitude adaptation of deer mouse hemoglobin. PNAS. 106 (34):14450
14455.