Environmental Control of the Seasonal Variations in the Daily Pattern of Melatonin Synthesis in the European Hamster,Cricetus cricetus

• Published in: General and comparative endocrinology Vol. 106; no. 1; pp. 85 - 94
• Main Authors: Vivien-Roels, B., Pitrosky, B., Zitouni, M., Malan, A., Canguilhem, B., Bonn, D., Pévet, P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.04.1997
• Subjects: Animals; Circadian Rhythm - physiology; Cricetinae - metabolism; Environment; Female; Melatonin - biosynthesis; Photoperiod; Rats - physiology; Seasons; Species Specificity
• ISSN: 0016-6480; 1095-6840
• DOI: 10.1006/gcen.1996.6853

Nocturnal patterns of pineal melatonin concentrations were measured at hourly intervals in the European hamster,Cricetus cricetus,maintained under different natural or experimental environmental conditions. There were pronounced variations in the night peak of pineal melatonin both in the duration and the amplitude of the melatonin peak and in the onset and decline of melatonin synthesis. The duration of the melatonin peak increased proportionnally with increased dark period. The amplitude increased abruptly from LD 16/8 to LD 15/9 and remained constant in all other photoperiods. The onset of synthesis started 6:00 hours after the onset of darkness in LD 16/8, 15/9, and 14/10, while it started 4:00 hours after dark onset in shorter photoperiods (LD 12/12 and 10/14). This result is opposite to that observed in the rat. The decline of synthesis was delayed as darkness increased and was directly related to lights on in long photoperiods, while it was endogenous in short photoperiods. Temperature, under a long photoperiod, also seems to be implicated in the regulation of the amplitude of the melatonin peak.