Dynamic metabolic and molecular changes during seasonal shrinking in Sorex araneus

To meet the challenge of wintering in place many high-latitude small mammals reduce energy demands through hibernation. In contrast, short-lived Eurasian common shrews, Sorex araneus, remain active and shrink, including energy-intensive organs in winter, regrowing in spring in an evolved strategy called Dehnel’s phenomenon. How this size change is linked to metabolic and regulatory changes to sustain their high metabolism is unknown. We analyzed metabolic, proteomic, and gene expression profiles spanning the entirety of Dehnel’s seasonal cycle in wild shrews. We show regulatory changes to oxidative phosphorylation and increased fatty acid metabolism during autumn-to-winter shrinkage, as previously found in hibernating species. But in shrews we also found upregulated winter expression of genes involved in gluconeogenesis: the biosynthesis of glucose from non-carbohydrate substrates. Co-expression models revealed changes in size and metabolic gene expression interconnect via FOXO signalin..., , , # Dynamic metabolic and molecular changes during seasonal shrinking in *Sorex araneus*

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pc866t1w3](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pc866t1w3)

Scripts and code to reproduce RNAseq analysis for looking at changes in expression through Dehnel's phenomenon in the liver. These analysis will help to understand both size and metabolic changes underpinning Dehnel’s phenomenon.

## Change Log

From the previous version, this data set now includes gene set enrichments using fgsea, uses sex as a covariate in DESeq2 analyses, and has removed our brain data.

## Description of the data and file structure

The first data table, Supplemental1_SampleData, consists of the phenotypes of the 24 individual shrews samples and there sequencing meta data.
Sheet 1 (Data)

* Rows =individuals
* Columns = Individual (#), Season , Sexual Maturity, Stage, Date, Sex, Body Mass, Brain Mass (g), Liver Mass (g), Spleen Mass (g), Heart Mass (g), Stage BoM Average (g), Stage BrM Average (g...,