Model Species

Many important physiological processes are regulated upon the intake of food such as the release of gastrointestinal hormones, the regulation of nutrient transporters, and the rise in metabolic rate. It is difficult to study these responses in humans and other animals because they are adapted to consumer small meals relatively frequently. Consequently, their stomachs are full most of the time and large fluctuations in their metabolic processes are not observed. The Burmese python, which consumes large meals at relatively infrequent and erratic intervals, makes an especially good model species to study these regulatory responses because there are large dramatic fluctuations in their metabolic processes.

Juvenile pythons make especially good model species for laboratory work because they retain the same metabolic characteristics as adult pythons, yet weigh considerably less, eat easily accessible rats and mice, and can be purchased from commercial breeders. Also, pythons are relatively docile and non-venomous which makes handling easier.

The use of Burmese pythons as a model species could advance the study of regulatory responses and the costs of maintaining a digestive system that is continuously active compared to the costs and benefits of turning the digestive system on only when needed.

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Topics in Animal Physiology