Slowing down the metabolic engine: impact of early-life corticosterone exposure on adult metabolism in house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Whole organism metabolism is an integrative process that determines not only the energy cost of living but also the energy output that is available for behavioral and physiological processes during the life cycle. Developmental challenge is known to affect growth, development of several organs, and several physiological mechanisms (such as HPA responsiveness, oxidative stress or immunity), which may altogether affect adult metabolism. All these developmental effects are likely to be mediated by glucocorticoids but the impact of developmental glucocorticoid exposure on adult metabolism has rarely been studied and the results are equivocal. In this study, we examined the impact of developmental exposure to corticosterone (CORT, the main avian glucocorticoid hormone) on RMR (resting metabolic rate, measured in thermoneutrality, 25°C) and TMR (thermoregulatory metabolic rate, measured in cold challenging condition, 5°C) in the House sparrow. Following experimental administration of CORT at the nestling stage, house sparrows were kept in captivity until adulthood when their metabolism was measured. We found that post-natal CORT exposure decreased both RMR and TMR in adult sparrows. This CORT-mediated reduction of metabolism was also associated with a reduced overnight body mass loss. Therefore, our results suggest that developmental CORT exposure can orient the phenotype towards an energy-saving strategy, which may be beneficial in a constraining environmental context.