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
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