Oxidative stress does not differ in primary dermal fibroblasts isolated from fast-growing and control-growing Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)

Growth rate is a key life-history trait that influences fitness and shapes the physiology of organisms. Additionally, faster growing individuals of the same species seem to be burdened with higher whole-animal metabolism and higher cellular turnover rates, which may lead to increases in oxidative stress, though this fact remains controversial within the literature. Aerobic organisms are subjected to metabolic by-products known as reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can wreak havoc on macromolecules, such as structurally altering proteins and inducing mutations in DNA, among others. To combat accumulating damage, organisms have evolved endogenous antioxidants and can consume exogenous antioxidants to sequester ROS before they cause cellular damage. We used primary fibroblast cells isolated from control-growing and fast-growing Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica Temminck and Schlegel, 1849) as a study model for the effects of differing growth rates on oxidative stress. We measured reduced glutathione (GSH) concentration, ROS production, mitochondrial content, and lipid peroxidation (LPO) damage. We found no significant differences in the four parameters measured between control-growing and fast-growing Quail. However, we found that in fast-growing Quail, GSH correlated with LPO damage and mitochondrial content, and LPO damage positively correlated with mitochondrial content, whereas control-growing Quail only showed positive relationships between LPO damage and ROS production.