Dynamic reserve, in the context of the

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 o ...

theory, refers to the set of metabolites (mostly

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

s and

lipid Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing ...

s) that an

organism An organism is any life, living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have be ...

can use for

metabolic Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the ...

purposes. These

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

s can have active metabolic functions, however. They are not just "set apart for later use." Reserve differs from structure in the first place by its dynamics. Reserve has an implied turnover, because it is synthesized from food (or other substrates in the environment) and used by metabolic processes occurring in cells. The turnover of structure depends on the maintenance of an organism. Maintenance is not required for reserve. A freshly laid egg consists almost exclusively of reserve, and hardly respires. The chemical compounds in the reserve have the same turnover, while that in the structure can have a different turnover, and so it depends on the compound.

Functionality

Reserves are synthesized from environmental substrates (food) for use by the metabolism for the purpose of somatic maintenance (including protein turnover, maintenance of concentration gradients across membranes, activity and other types of work), growth (increase of structural mass), maturity maintenance (installation of regulation systems, preparation for reproduction, maintenance of defense systems, such as the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...

), maturation (increase of the state of maturity) and

reproduction Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: Asexual reproduction, asexual and Sexual ...

. This organizational position of reserve creates a rather constant internal chemical environment, with only an indirect coupling with the extra-organismal environment. Reserves as well as structure are taken to be generalised compounds, i.e. mixtures of a large number of compounds, which do not change in composition. The latter requirement is called the strong

homeostasis In biology, homeostasis (British English, British also homoeostasis; ) is the state of steady internal physics, physical and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning fo ...

assumption. Polymers (

carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

ribosomal RNA Ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA which is the primary component of ribosomes, essential to all cells. rRNA is a ribozyme which carries out protein synthesis in ribosomes. Ribosomal RNA is transcribed from ribosomal ...

) and

s form the main bulk of reserves and of structure. Some reasons for including reserve are to give an explanation for (from ): # the metabolic memory; changes in food (substrate) availability affect production (growth or reproduction) with some delay. Growth continues for some time during

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, de ...

; embryo development is fueled by reserves # the composition of

biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...

depends on growth rate. With two components (reserves and structure) particular changes in composition can be captured. More complex changes require several reserves, as is required for

autotroph An autotroph is an organism that can convert Abiotic component, abiotic sources of energy into energy stored in organic compounds, which can be used by Heterotroph, other organisms. Autotrophs produce complex organic compounds (such as carbohy ...

s. # the body size scaling of life history parameters. The specific respiration rate decreases with (maximum) body size between species because large bodied species have relatively more reserve. Many other life history parameters directly or indirectly relate to respiration. # the observed

respiration Respiration may refer to: Biology * Cellular respiration, the process in which nutrients are converted into useful energy in a cell ** Anaerobic respiration, cellular respiration without oxygen ** Maintenance respiration, the amount of cellul ...

patterns, which reflect the use of energy. Freshly laid

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

hardly respire, but their

respiratory rate The respiratory rate is the rate at which breathing occurs; it is set and controlled by the respiratory center of the brain. A person's respiratory rate is usually measured in breaths per minute. Measurement The respiratory rate in humans is mea ...

s increase during development while egg weight decreases. After hatching, however, the respiration rate further increases, while the weight now also increases # all mass fluxes are linear combinations of assimilation, dissipation and growth. If reserves are omitted, there is not enough flexibility to capture product formation and explain indirect

calorimetry In chemistry and thermodynamics, calorimetry () is the science or act of measuring changes in '' state variables'' of a body for the purpose of deriving the heat transfer associated with changes of its state due, for example, to chemical reac ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dynamic Reserve Metabolism