1
|
Stewart JR, Presch W. Placental ontogeny in the Yucca Night Lizard, Xantusia vigilis. J Morphol 2024; 285:e21692. [PMID: 38573030 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Squamate placentas support physiological exchange between mothers and embryos. Uterine and embryonic epithelial cells provide sites for transporting mechanisms and extraembryonic membranes provide the scaffolding for embryonic epithelial cells and vascular systems. Diversity in placental structure involves variation in extraembryonic membrane development as well as epithelial cell specializations. Variation in placental ontogeny is known to occur and, although lineage specific patterns have been described, phylogenetic distribution of specific patterns is poorly understood. Xantusia vigilis is a viviparous lizard in a monophyletic clade, Xantusiidae, of predominantly viviparous species. Xantusiidae is one of two viviparous lineages within the clade Scincoidea that provides an important outgroup comparison for Scincidae, which includes the largest number of independent origins of viviparity among Squamata. Previous reports contain brief descriptions of placental structure of X vigilis but the developmental pattern is unknown including relevant details for comparison with skinks. We studied placental ontogeny in X. vigilis to address two hypotheses: (1) the pattern of development of placental architecture is similar to species of Scincidae and, (2) placental epithelial cell specializations are similar to species of Scincidae. The terminal placental stage of X. vigilis is similar to skinks in that it includes a chorioallantoic placenta and an omphaloplacenta. The chorioallantoic placenta is richly vascularized with thin, squamous epithelial cells separating the two vascular systems. This morphology differs from the elaborate epithelial cell specializations as occur in some skink species, but is similar to many species. Epithelial cells of the omphaloplacenta are enlarged, as they are in scincids, yet development of the omphaloplacenta includes a vascular pattern known to occur only in gerrhonotine lizards. Histochemical staining properties of the epithelium of the omphalopleure of the omphaloplacenta indicate the potential for protein transport, a function not previously reported for lizards.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James R Stewart
- Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee, USA
| | - William Presch
- Department of Biological Science, California State University, Fullerton, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kircher BK, Stanley EL, Behringer RR. Anatomy of the female reproductive tract organs of the brown anole (Anolis sagrei). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:395-413. [PMID: 37506227 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Female reproduction in squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) is highly diverse and mode of reproduction, clutch size, and reproductive tract morphology all vary widely across this group of ~11,000 species. Recently, CRISPR genome editing techniques that require manipulation of the female reproductive anatomy have been developed in this group, making a more complete understanding of this anatomy essential. We describe the adult female reproductive anatomy of the model reptile the brown anole (Anolis sagrei). We show that the brown anole female reproductive tract has three distinct anterior-to-posterior regions, the infundibulum, the glandular uterus, and the nonglandular uterus. The infundibulum has a highly ciliated epithelial lip, a region where the epithelium is inverted so that cilia are present on the inside and outside of the tube. The glandular uterus has epithelial ducts that are patent with a lumen as well as acinar structures with a lumen. The nonglandular uterus has a heterogeneous morphology from anterior to posterior, with a highly folded, ciliated epithelium transitioning to a stratified squamous epithelium. This transition is accompanied by a loss of keratin-8 expression and together, these changes are similar to the morphological and gene expression changes that occur in the mammalian cervix. We recommend that description of the nonglandular uterus include the regional sub-specification of a "cervix" and "vagina" as this terminology change more accurately describes the morphology. Our data extend histological studies of reproductive organ morphology in reptiles and expand our understanding of the variation in reproductive system anatomy across squamates and vertebrates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bonnie K Kircher
- Department of Genetics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Edward L Stanley
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Richard R Behringer
- Department of Genetics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Vázquez-García E, Villagrán-SantaCruz M. Placentation in the Mexican scincid lizard Plestiodon brevirostris (Squamata: Scincidae). J Morphol 2023; 284:e21563. [PMID: 36719277 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Viviparity is the reproductive pattern in which females gestate eggs within their reproductive tract to complete their development and give birth to live offspring. Within extant sauropsids, only the Squamata (e.g., snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians) evolved viviparity, representing 20% of the existing species. The genus Plestiodon is represented by 43 species and is one of the most widely distributed genera of the Scincidae in Mexico. The goal of this research has been to determine the placental morphology and ontogeny during gestation in the lizard Plestiodon brevirostris. Specimens were dissected to obtain the embryonic chambers and the embryos were categorized to carry out the correlation between the development stage and the placenta development. The embryonic chambers were processed using the conventional histological technique for light microscopy. The identified embryonic stages were 4, 29, 34, 36, and 39. A thin eggshell surrounds the egg in early developmental stages; however, this structure is already absent in the embryonic hemisphere during the developmental stage 29. The results revealed that P. brevirostris is a lecithotrophic species, but a close maternal-fetal relationship is established by tissue apposition. Ontogenically, the placental types that form in the embryonic hemisphere are the chorioplacenta, choriovitelline placenta, and chorioallantoic placenta; whereas the omphaloplacenta is formed in the abembryonic hemisphere. The structure of the chorioallantoic placenta in P. brevirostris suggests that it may play a role during gas exchange between the mother and the embryo, due to the characteristics of the epithelia that comprise it. The structure of embryonic and maternal epithelia of the omphaloplacenta suggests a role in the absorption of the eggshell during gestation and possibly in the transport or diffusion of some nutrients. In general, it is evident that ontogeny and placental characteristics of P. brevirostris match those of other species of viviparous lecithotrophic scincids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erwin Vázquez-García
- Departamento de Biología Comparada, Laboratorio de Biología Tisular y Reproductora, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México City, Mexico
| | - Maricela Villagrán-SantaCruz
- Departamento de Biología Comparada, Laboratorio de Biología Tisular y Reproductora, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México City, Mexico
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Genomic and transcriptomic investigations of the evolutionary transition from oviparity to viviparity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:3646-3655. [PMID: 30808754 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1816086116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Viviparous (live-bearing) vertebrates have evolved repeatedly within otherwise oviparous (egg-laying) clades. Over two-thirds of these changes in vertebrate reproductive parity mode happened in squamate reptiles, where the transition has happened between 98 and 129 times. The transition from oviparity to viviparity requires numerous physiological, morphological, and immunological changes to the female reproductive tract, including eggshell reduction, delayed oviposition, placental development for supply of water and nutrition to the embryo by the mother, enhanced gas exchange, and suppression of maternal immune rejection of the embryo. We performed genomic and transcriptomic analyses of a closely related oviparous-viviparous pair of lizards (Phrynocephalus przewalskii and Phrynocephalus vlangalii) to examine these transitions. Expression patterns of maternal oviduct through reproductive development of the egg and embryo differ markedly between the two species. We found changes in expression patterns of appropriate genes that account for each of the major aspects of the oviparity to viviparity transition. In addition, we compared the gene sequences in transcriptomes of four oviparous-viviparous pairs of lizards in different genera (Phrynocephalus, Eremias, Scincella, and Sphenomorphus) to look for possible gene convergence at the sequence level. We discovered low levels of convergence in both amino acid replacement and evolutionary rate shift. This suggests that most of the changes that produce the oviparity-viviparity transition are changes in gene expression, so occasional reversals to oviparity from viviparity may not be as difficult to achieve as has been previously suggested.
Collapse
|
5
|
Jones SM. Variations upon a theme: Australian lizards provide insights into the endocrine control of vertebrate reproductive cycles. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2017; 244:60-69. [PMID: 26342969 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2015] [Revised: 08/13/2015] [Accepted: 09/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Australian lizards exhibit a broad array of different reproductive strategies and provide an extraordinary diversity and range of models with which to address fundamental problems in reproductive biology. Studies on lizards have frequently led to new insights into hormonal regulatory pathways or mechanisms of control, but we have detailed knowledge of the reproductive cycle in only a small percentage of known species. This review provides an overview and synthesis of current knowledge of the hormonal control of reproductive cycles in Australian lizards. Agamid lizards have provided useful models with which to test hypotheses about the hormonal regulation of the expression of reproductive behaviors, while research on viviparous skinks is providing insights into the evolution of the endocrine control of gestation. However, in order to better understand the potential risks that environmental factors such as climate change and endocrine disrupting chemicals pose to our fauna, better knowledge is required of the fundamental characteristics of the reproductive cycle in a broader range of lizard species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Susan M Jones
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Laird MK, Turancova M, McAllan BM, Murphy CR, Thompson MB. Uterine focal adhesion dynamics during pregnancy in a marsupial (
Sminthopsis crassicaudata
; Dasyuridae). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2017; 300:1150-1159. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.23535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2016] [Revised: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 09/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Melanie K. Laird
- School of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Sydney New South Wales2006 Australia
| | - Michaela Turancova
- School of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Sydney New South Wales2006 Australia
| | - Bronwyn M. McAllan
- Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences and Bosch InstituteUniversity of Sydney New South Wales2006 Australia
| | - Christopher R. Murphy
- Department of Anatomy and Histology, School of Medical Sciences and Bosch InstituteUniversity of Sydney New South Wales2006 Australia
| | - Michael B. Thompson
- School of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Sydney New South Wales2006 Australia
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Aguilar C, Stark MR, Arroyo JA, Standing MD, Rios S, Washburn T, Sites JW. Placental morphology in two sympatric Andean lizards of the genusLiolaemus(Reptilia: Liolaemidae). J Morphol 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- César Aguilar
- Department of Biology and Bean Life Science Museum; Brigham Young University (BYU); Provo Utah 84602
- Departamento de Herpetologia; Museo De Historia Natural De San Marcos (MUSM); Av. Arenales 1256 Jesus María Lima Perú
- Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas Antonio Raimondi, Department of Zoology, Facultad De Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor De San Marcos; Lima Perú
| | - Michael R. Stark
- Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology; BYU; Provo Utah 84602
| | - Juan A. Arroyo
- Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology; BYU; Provo Utah 84602
| | | | - Shary Rios
- Departamento de Herpetologia; Museo De Historia Natural De San Marcos (MUSM); Av. Arenales 1256 Jesus María Lima Perú
| | - Trevor Washburn
- Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology; BYU; Provo Utah 84602
| | - Jack W. Sites
- Department of Biology and Bean Life Science Museum; Brigham Young University (BYU); Provo Utah 84602
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Blackburn DG, Starck JM. Morphological specializations for fetal maintenance in viviparous vertebrates: An introduction and historical retrospective. J Morphol 2015; 276:E1-16. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel G. Blackburn
- Department of Biology; and Electron Microscopy Center; Trinity College; Hartford Connecticut 06106
| | - J. Matthias Starck
- Department of Biology; University of Munich; D-82152 Planegg-Martinsried Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Blackburn DG. Viviparous placentotrophy in reptiles and the parent-offspring conflict. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2015; 324:532-48. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel G. Blackburn
- Departmentof Biology; Electron Microscopy Center; Trinity College; Hartford Connecticut
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Wu Q, Fong CK, Thompson MB, Murphy CR. Changes to the uterine epithelium during the reproductive cycle of two viviparous lizard species (Niveoscincusspp.). ACTA ZOOL-STOCKHOLM 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/azo.12096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qiong Wu
- School of Biological Sciences (A08); The University of Sydney; Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
| | - Cameron K. Fong
- School of Medical Sciences (Anatomy and Histology) and Bosch Institute; The University of Sydney; Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
| | - Michael B. Thompson
- School of Biological Sciences (A08); The University of Sydney; Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
| | - Christopher R. Murphy
- School of Medical Sciences (Anatomy and Histology) and Bosch Institute; The University of Sydney; Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Laird MK, Thompson MB, Murphy CR, McAllan BM. Uterine epithelial cell changes during pregnancy in a marsupial (Sminthopsis crassicaudata; Dasyuridae). J Morphol 2014; 275:1081-92. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2013] [Revised: 02/25/2014] [Accepted: 03/21/2014] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Melanie K. Laird
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney; Sydney New South Wales 2006 Australia
| | - Michael B. Thompson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney; Sydney New South Wales 2006 Australia
| | - Christopher R. Murphy
- School of Medical Sciences and Bosch Institute, University of Sydney; Sydney New South Wales 2006 Australia
| | - Bronwyn M. McAllan
- School of Medical Sciences and Bosch Institute, University of Sydney; Sydney New South Wales 2006 Australia
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
BIAZIK JOANNAM, PARKER SCOTTL, MURPHY CHRISTOPHERR, THOMPSON MICHAELB. Uterine Epithelial Morphology and Progesterone Receptors in a Mifepristone-treated Viviparous LizardPseudemoia entrecasteauxii(Squamata: Scincidae) During Gestation. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2012; 318:148-58. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- JOANNA M. BIAZIK
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Sydney; Sydney; Australia
| | - SCOTT L. PARKER
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Sydney; Sydney; Australia
| | - CHRISTOPHER R. MURPHY
- Discipline of Anatomy and Histology; School of Medical Science and Bosch Institute; University of Sydney; Sydney; Australia
| | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Murphy BF, Brandley MC, Murphy CR, Thompson MB. Morphology and development of the placentae in Eulamprus quoyii group skinks (Squamata: Scincidae). J Anat 2012; 220:454-71. [PMID: 22420511 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2012.01492.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Frequent evolutionary changes in reproductive mode have produced a wide range of placental structures in viviparous squamate reptiles. Closely related species with different placental structures and resolved phylogenetic relationships are particularly useful for reconstructing how placentae might have transformed during the evolutionary process. We used light microscopy to study placental morphology in mid- to late stage embryos of four closely related species of Eulamprus, a genus of viviparous scincid lizards that we had reason to suspect may display significant interspecific variation in placental morphology. Embryos from all four species possess a chorioallantoic placenta, an omphaloplacenta and an interomphalopleuric membrane, characteristics present in other viviparous skinks. However, unlike other viviparous skinks but characteristic of oviparous skinks, the allantois expands to surround the yolk sac in each species, supplanting the omphalopleure with a larger area of chorioallantois until a chorioallantoic placenta surrounds the entire egg in one specimen that is only a few days from birth. All four Eulamprus species share the same extraembryonic membrane morphology, but the cellular morphology of the uterine epithelium in the chorioallantoic placenta and omphaloplacenta varies between species. We determined that the interomphalopleuric membrane is a shared derived character of the Eulamprus quoyii species group. New phylogenetic information indicates that variation in the chorioallantoic placenta is a result of two independent transitions, but that variation in the omphaloplacenta can be explained using a single change within the species studied. Our results indicate that E. quoyii group skinks are a valuable model for investigating the evolution of viviparity, as extraembryonic membrane development in these species shows features characteristic of both oviparous and viviparous skinks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bridget F Murphy
- School of Biological Sciences (A08), University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Ramírez-Pinilla MP, Parker SL, Murphy CR, Thompson MB. Uterine and chorioallantoic angiogenesis and changes in the uterine epithelium during gestation in the viviparous lizard, niveoscincus conventryi (squamata: scincidae). J Morphol 2011; 273:8-23. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.11002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2011] [Revised: 05/21/2011] [Accepted: 06/01/2011] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
|
15
|
A review of the evolution of viviparity in squamate reptiles: the past, present and future role of molecular biology and genomics. J Comp Physiol B 2011; 181:575-94. [DOI: 10.1007/s00360-011-0584-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2011] [Revised: 04/19/2011] [Accepted: 04/20/2011] [Indexed: 12/06/2022]
|
16
|
Murphy BF, Parker SL, Murphy CR, Thompson MB. Placentation in the eastern water skink (Eulamprus quoyii): a placentome-like structure in a lecithotrophic lizard. J Anat 2011; 218:678-89. [PMID: 21434912 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2011.01368.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The eastern water skink (Eulamprus quoyii) has lecithotrophic embryos and was previously described as having a simple Type I chorioallantoic placenta. Indeed, it was the species upon which the definition of a Type I placenta was thought to be based, although we had cause to question that assumption. Hence we have described the morphology of the uterus of E. quoyii and found it to be more complex than previously supposed. The mesometrial pole of the uterus in E. quoyii displays a vessel-dense elliptical structure (the VDE) with columnar uterine epithelial cells. As pregnancy proceeds, the uterine epithelium near the mesometrial pole becomes folded and glands become hypertrophied, so that the morphology of VDE resembles that of a placentome, characteristic of Type III placentae. Unlike species with a Type III placenta, the apposing chorioallantoic membrane of E. quoyii is lined with squamous cells and interdigitates with the folded uterine epithelium. The remainder of the uterus is thin with a squamous uterine epithelium throughout pregnancy. Immunohistochemical localisation of blood vessels reveals a dense network of small capillaries directly beneath the folded epithelium of the VDE, while blood vessels are larger and sparser at the abembryonic pole of the uterus. Alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity is present in the uterine epithelium and sub-epithelial blood vessels in newly ovulated females. AP activity disappears from the epithelium between stages 27 and 29 of embryonic development and from the blood vessels after stage 34, but appears in the uterine glands at stage 35, where it remains until the end of pregnancy. Although the VDE is structurally similar to the placentomes found in other viviparous lizards, different distributions of AP activity in the uterus of E. quoyii and Pseudemoia spenceri suggest that the VDE may be functionally different from the placentome of the latter species. Our description of uterine morphology in E. quoyii provides evidence that, at least in some lineages, the evolution of a placentome may not occur in concert with the evolution of microlecithal eggs and obligate placentotrophy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bridget F Murphy
- School of Biological Sciences (A08), University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
17
|
Anderson KE, Blackburn DG, Dunlap KD. Scanning electron microscopy of the placental interface in the viviparous lizardSceloporus jarrovi(Squamata: Phrynosomatidae). J Morphol 2011; 272:465-84. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2010] [Revised: 08/19/2010] [Accepted: 08/22/2010] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
18
|
Blackburn DG, Gavelis GS, Anderson KE, Johnson AR, Dunlap KD. Placental specializations of the mountain spiny lizard Sceloporus jarrovi. J Morphol 2010; 271:1153-75. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
|
19
|
Blackburn DG, Flemming AF. Morphology, development, and evolution of fetal membranes and placentation in squamate reptiles. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2009; 312:579-89. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.21234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
20
|
Siegel DS, Sever DM. Seasonal variation in the oviduct of femaleAgkistrodon piscivorus(Reptilia:Squamata): An ultrastructural investigation. J Morphol 2008; 269:980-97. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
|
21
|
Adams SM, Biazik J, Stewart RL, Murphy CR, Thompson MB. Fundamentals of viviparity: Comparison of seasonal changes in the uterine epithelium of oviparous and viviparousLerista bougainvillii (Squamata: Scincidae). J Morphol 2007; 268:624-35. [PMID: 17458887 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Distinct differences in epithelial response between oviparous and viviparous species of skinks led us to investigate morphological differences in the uterus of a species that exhibits bi-modal reproduction and that may indicate specialities for the different requirements of viviparity and oviparity. The uteri of females from oviparous and viviparous populations of the Australian scincid lizard, Lerista bougainvillii, are described in detail to determine whether the occurrence of uterodomes and the plasma membrane transformation, found in other viviparous species but not oviparous species, are indeed features characteristic of viviparity. Oviductal tissue was dissected at three different stages of reproduction from lizards from both populations: 1) vitellogenic, 2) gravid or pregnant, and 3) non-reproductive or quiescent. Tissue was observed using both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Lerista bougainvillii has a simple placental morphology with simple squamous epithelium. In contrast to mammals and other viviparous skinks, L. bougainvillii does not undergo a plasma membrane transformation, but early signs of placentation in viviparous individuals are indicated by changes in the uterine surface that occur largely after embryonic stage 30. There are no obvious cellular differences between the uteri of oviparous and viviparous L. bougainvillii at the non-reproductive and vitellogenic phase of the reproductive cycle but throughout gestation/gravidity, the cellular differences that could be related to the changing functional requirements with the retention of the viviparous embryo, became apparent. A plasma membrane transformation with ensuing uterodome formation does not occur, which suggests that these more sophisticated changes are a feature of advanced placental development in reptiles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Susan M Adams
- School of Biological Sciences and Wildlife Research Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|