Laboratory of Cellular Biology, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais - UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Laboratory of Mastozoology, Department of Biological Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais - PUC Minas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Cell Tissue Res. 2020 Dec;382(3):639-656. doi: 10.1007/s00441-020-03242-5. Epub 2020 Jul 20.
Myotis levis (yellowish myotis) is a small Neotropical insectivorous vespertilionid bat that provides valuable ecosystem services, such as control of disease vectors and agricultural pests. Aiming to describe the fluctuations of the reproductive organs throughout the year, the gonads and epididymis from 124 adult bats were histologically evaluated. These animals were captured in Santuário do Caraça, Minas Gerais, Brazil. After the initial screening, six bats per reproductive stage (in a representative month) had specific organs harvested for further investigation. The gonads, epididymis, accessory sex gland and brown adipose tissue were collected for biometric analyses. Furthermore, yellowish myotis testis was evaluated through histomorphometric and molecular assays, whereas blood samples were collected for hormonal analyses. The data were compared among the reproductive stages and correlated with rainfall distribution. As a result, we demonstrated that yellowish myotis presented a seasonal reproduction showing testis regression and rest, resembling the pattern exhibited by temperate-zone vespertilionid bats. During the Mature stage, after the peak of rainfall distribution, yellowish myotis testicles were fully developed for gamete production and maximum testosterone synthesis. These findings indicate a significant influence of this environmental factor on yellowish myotis reproduction. Following that, the accessory sex gland, brown adipose tissue and epididymis weights increased in the Regressed stage. The epididymis sperm storage occurred for at least 8 months and was observed in the Regressed, Rest and beginning of the Maturing stage. This reproductive fluctuation is interesting because the reactivation of the gonads coincided with the least amount of sperm in the epididymis.
黄足蹄蝠（Myotis levis）是一种小型新热带食虫蝙蝠，为生态系统提供了宝贵的服务，如控制疾病媒介和农业害虫。为了描述全年生殖器官的波动情况，对 124 只成年蝙蝠的性腺和附睪进行了组织学评估。这些动物是在巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州的 Santuário do Caraça 捕获的。经过初步筛选，每个生殖阶段（在有代表性的一个月）有 6 只蝙蝠具有特定的器官被采集用于进一步研究。采集了性腺、附睪、副性腺和棕色脂肪组织进行生物计量分析。此外，还对黄足蹄蝠的睾丸进行了组织形态计量和分子检测，同时采集了血液样本进行激素分析。将数据与生殖阶段进行比较，并与降雨量分布相关联。结果表明，黄足蹄蝠表现出季节性繁殖，睾丸退化和休眠，类似于温带翼手目蝙蝠的模式。在成熟阶段，在降雨量分布高峰后，黄足蹄蝠的睾丸完全发育用于配子产生和最大的睾丸酮合成。这些发现表明，这种环境因素对黄足蹄蝠的繁殖有显著影响。随后，在退化阶段，副性腺、棕色脂肪组织和附睪的重量增加。附睪中的精子储存至少持续 8 个月，在退化、休眠和成熟阶段开始时都有观察到。这种生殖波动很有趣，因为性腺的重新激活与附睪中精子数量最少的时期相吻合。
