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Maintenance Of An Organism
Maintenance of an organism is the collection of processes to stay alive, excluding production processes. The Dynamic Energy Budget theory delineates two classes * Somatic maintenance mainly comprises the turnover of structural mass (mainly proteins) and the maintenance of concentration gradients of metabolites across membranes (e.g., counteracting leakage). This is related to maintenance respiration. * Maturity maintenance concerns the maintenance of defence systems (such as the immune system), and the preparation of the body for reproduction. The theory assumes that maturity maintenance costs can be reduced more easily during starvation than somatic maintenance costs. Under extreme starvation conditions, somatic maintenance costs are paid from structural mass, which causes shrinking. Some organism manage to switch to the turpor Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables ani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dynamic Energy Budget
The dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory is a formal metabolic theory which provides a single quantitative framework to dynamically describe the aspects of metabolism (energy and mass budgets) of all living organisms at the individual level, based on assumptions about energy uptake, storage, and utilization of various substances. The DEB theory adheres to stringent thermodynamic principles, is motivated by universally observed patterns, is non-species specific, and links different levels of biological organization (cells, organisms, and populations) as prescribed by the implications of energetics. Models based on the DEB theory have been successfully applied to over a 1000 species with real-life applications ranging from conservation, aquaculture, general ecology, and ecotoxicology (see also thAdd-my-pet collection. The theory is contributing to the theoretical underpinning of the emerging field of metabolic ecology. The explicitness of the assumptions and the resulting predictions e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maintenance Respiration
Maintenance respiration (or maintenance energy) refers to metabolism occurring in an organism that is needed to maintain that organism in a healthy, living state. Maintenance respiration contrasts with growth respiration, which is responsible for the synthesis of new structures in growth, nutrient uptake, nitrogen (N) reduction and phloem loading, whereas maintenance respiration is associated with protein and membrane turnover and maintenance of ion concentrations and gradients. In plants Maintenance respiration in plants refers to the amount of cellular respiration, measured by the carbon dioxide (CO2) released or oxygen (O2) consumed, during the generation of usable energy (mainly ATP, NADPH, and NADH) and metabolic intermediates used for (i) resynthesis of compounds that undergo renewal (turnover) in the normal process of metabolism (examples are enzymatic proteins, ribonucleic acids, and membrane lipids); (ii) maintenance of chemical gradients of ions and metabolites across c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Immune System
The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinters, distinguishing them from the organism's own healthy tissue. Many species have two major subsystems of the immune system. The innate immune system provides a preconfigured response to broad groups of situations and stimuli. The adaptive immune system provides a tailored response to each stimulus by learning to recognize molecules it has previously encountered. Both use molecules and cells to perform their functions. Nearly all organisms have some kind of immune system. Bacteria have a rudimentary immune system in the form of enzymes that protect against virus infections. Other basic immune mechanisms evolved in ancient plants and animals and remain in their modern descendants. These mechanisms include phagocytosis, antimicrobial pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turpor
Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables animals to survive periods of reduced food availability. The term "torpor" can refer to the time a hibernator spends at low body temperature, lasting days to weeks, or it can refer to a period of low body temperature and metabolism lasting less than 24 hours, as in "daily torpor". Animals that undergo daily torpor include birds (even tiny hummingbirds, notably Cypselomorphae) and some mammals, including many marsupial species, rodent species (such as mice), and bats. During the active part of their day, such animals maintain normal body temperature and activity levels, but their metabolic rate and body temperature drop during a portion of the day (usually night) to conserve energy. Some animals seasonally go into long periods of inactivity, with reduced body temperature and metabolism, made up of multiple bouts of torpor. This is kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
