Functional and structural changes in internal pudendal arteries underlie erectile ...
| Grant number: | 15/06923-9 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | July 01, 2015 |
| Effective date (End): | March 31, 2019 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Zoology |
| Cooperation agreement: | Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) |
| Principal Investigator: | Eliana Morielle Versute |
| Grantee: | Manuela Tosi Comelis Martins |
| Home Institution: | Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil |
Abstract The Order Chiroptera is the second largest order of Mammalia, and despite the wide radiation and advances in studies of evolutionary approaches in this group, the aspects of reproductive biology are still poorly explored, especially those related to accessory reproductive glands (ARGS), their functional relationships with seasonal reproductive variations, common in many species, and the morphology of the copulatory organ, the penis, which is well known to be responsible for the success of copulation in these animals. Thus, the aim of this project is to analyze the prostate complex and penile in bat species belonging to the main families found in Brazil: Vespertilionidae, Molossidae and Phyllostomidae. Therefore, the prostates of adult male specimens of Molossus molossus and Eptesicus furinalis and the penis of adult males of Artibeus lituratus, Artibeus planirostris, Carollia perspicillata, Glossophaga soricina, Eptesicus furialis and Molossus rufus will be evaluated, in order to delineate an anatomical, histological and histochemical comparative panorama between the structures with detailed descriptions through macroscopic, microscopic and ultrastructural analysis; taking into account the assessment of the possible influence of seasonal and hormone serum concentrations of sex steroids on the gland throughout the year. To the penis, emphasis will be given to the characterization of the glans penis, the baculum, or penis bone, and diffuse cavernous tissue. These analyzes complete a series of studies that will allow to evaluate structural aspects of the reproductive organs of the group, aiming a better understanding of the phylogenetic relationships within Chiroptera. Based on this information, we believe that further studies on histophysiology of the prostate and male copulatory organ in Brazilian species of bats will contribute to the understanding of the reproductive biology of these animals. Allied to this, we emphasize the great importance of studies on reproductive system morphophysiology of these animals associate with s systematized environmental parameters such as seasonality, so that they can be implemented in a combined analysis of the anatomical and histological parameters, thus providing a greater range of ecological and evolutionary evaluation within Chiroptera. (AU) | |