Open Access

ARTICLE

The ovary of Lagostomus maximus (Mammalia, Rodentia): an analysis by confocal microscopy

by MARÍA B. ESPINOSA, , NICOLÁS A. FRAUNHOFFER, , NOELIA P. LEOPARDO, , ALFREDO D. VITULLO, AND MIGUEL A. WILLIS

CEBBAD – Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Biotecnológicos Ambientales y de Diagnóstico – Universidad Maimónides, Hidalgo 775 – (C1405BCK), Buenos Aires, Argentina. The authors are listed alphabetically according to surname. 1 Fellows (CONICET and Universidad Maimónides). 2 Researchers from CONICET.

^*Address correspondence to: María B. Espinosa. Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Salud, Fundación PROSAMA. Paysandu 752. C1405BCK Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Argentina. E-mail: Received: October 29, 2010.

BIOCELL 2011, 35(2), 37-42. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2011.35.037

Abstract

Lagostomus maximus is a notable mammalian model for reproductive studies. Females have an extremely high ovulation rate, which is due to down-regulation of the follicular apoptosis pathway, which ensures a large pool of developing follicles. This large pool is supported by the convoluted anatomy of the mature ovary, whose germinal tissue is found in irregularly curved ridges throughout the cortex. Medullary tissue is restricted to a minimum. Lyso Tracker Red reconstruction under confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to recognize and measure all follicular stages from primordial to antral. Unlike most mammals in which early primordial follicles are just found in fetal life, the adult ovary shows regions packed with early primordial follicles. Follicle size ranged from 24 to 316 μm. We discuss the relationships of L. maximus follicles size with regard to other species of mammals and propose that the physiology of the adult viscacha ovary obeys to a neoteny process in the evolution of this species.

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