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Thermogenesis is the process of heat production in organisms.It occurs in all warm-blooded animals, and also in a few species of thermogenic plants such as the Eastern skunk cabbage, the Voodoo lily (Sauromatum venosum), and the giant water lilies of the genus Victoria.
Non-shivering thermogenesis occurs in the brown fat, which contains the uncoupling protein thermogenin. This protein decreases the proton gradient generated in oxidative phosphorylation during the synthesis of ATP , uncoupling the electron transport in the mitochondrion from the production of chemical energy (ATP).
Biological thermodynamics (Thermodynamics of biological systems) is a science that explains the nature and general laws of thermodynamic processes occurring in living organisms as nonequilibrium thermodynamic systems that convert the energy of the Sun and food into other types of energy.
Yet another theory is that the heat helps protect against frost damage, allowing the plant to germinate and sprout earlier than otherwise. For example, the skunk cabbage generates heat, which allows it to melt its way through a layer of snow in early spring. [4] The heat, however, is mostly used to help spread its pungent odor and attract ...
When an organism reaches this stage the metabolic rate increases significantly and thermogenesis increases the T b (body temp.) If the T a continues to decrease far below the LCT hypothermia occurs. Alternatively, evaporative heat loss for cooling occurs when temperatures above the TNZ, the upper critical zone (UCT), are realized (Speakman and ...
The UCP1, or thermogenin, gene likely arose in an ancestor of modern vertebrates, but did not initially allow for our vertebrate ancestor to use non-shivering thermogenesis for warmth. It wasn't until heat generation was adaptively selected for in placental mammal descendants of this common ancestor that UCP1 evolved its current function in ...
The honey bee, for example, does so by contracting antagonistic flight muscles without moving its wings (see insect thermoregulation). [ 18 ] [ 19 ] [ 20 ] This form of thermogenesis is, however, only efficient above a certain temperature threshold, and below about 9–14 °C (48–57 °F), the honey bee reverts to ectothermy.
The opposite of a stenotherm is a eurytherm, an organism that can function across a wide range of body temperatures. Eurythermic organisms are typically found in environments with significant temperature variations, such as temperate or tropical regions.