Divergent Seasonal Reproductive Patterns in Syntopic Populations of Two Murine Species in Southern Spain, Mus spretus and Apodemus sylvaticus
Metadatos
Mostrar el registro completo del ítemAutor
Mohamed Mahmoud Massoud, Diaa Fawzi; Lao Pérez, Miguel; Ortega Sánchez, Esperanza; Burgos Poyatos, Miguel; Jiménez Medina, Rafael; Barrionuevo Jiménez, Francisco JavierEditorial
MDPI
Materia
Seasonal breeding Seasonal testis regression Muridae Iberian Peninsula Apodemus sylvaticus Wood mouse Mus spretus Algerian mouse
Fecha
2021Referencia bibliográfica
Massoud, D.; Lao-Pérez, M.; Ortega, E.; Burgos, M.; Jiménez, R.; Barrionuevo, F.J. Divergent Seasonal Reproductive Patterns in Syntopic Populations of Two Murine Species in Southern Spain, Mus spretus and Apodemus sylvaticus. Animals 2021, 11, 243. https:// doi.org/10.3390/ani11020243
Patrocinador
Spanish Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, grant number CGL-2015-67108-PResumen
In temperate zones of the Earth, most species reproduce in seasons providing the
most favourable environmental conditions. Producing gametes is expensive in energetical terms, so
both males and females either reduce or abolish gametogenesis during the non-breeding period. We
thoroughly studied the testes of sexually inactive males of two rodents, the wood mouse, Apodemus
sylvaticus, and the Algerian mouse, Mus spretus, in southern Iberian peninsula. These populations are
syntopic, that is, animals of the two species share their territories and resources, so one would expect
them to show similar or identical seasonal reproduction patterns. Contrarily, we found that both
species reproduce during most of the year, but wood mice stop breeding in the summer whereas
Algerian mice do it in winter. These divergent seasonal breeding patterns imply that either very
subtle animal features and/or environmental cues operate to determine reproduction timing and
support the notion that multiple models of circannual reproduction patterns are possible for different
populations of the same species, showing that the mechanisms controlling seasonal reproduction
are in fact very plastic and fast evolving. Hence, small mammals probably have multiple ways
available to get adapted to the unstable environmental conditions derived from the ongoing global
climate change. In most mammals with seasonal reproduction, males undergo testis regression during the
non-breeding period. We performed a morphological, hormonal, functional, and molecular study of
the testes of sexually inactive males of two species of murine rodents, the wood mouse, Apodemus
sylvaticus, and the Algerian mouse, Mus spretus, in syntopic populations of southern Iberian peninsula.
Both species reproduce during most of the year, but wood mice stop breeding in the summer whereas
Algerian mice do it in winter. Sexually inactive males of A. sylvaticus show complete testis regression
with reduced levels of serum testosterone and abnormal distribution of cell-adhesion molecules.
Contrarily, inactive males of M. spretus maintain almost normal spermotogenesis despite a significant
reduction of androgenic function. The lack of an evident explanation for the divergent seasonal
breeding patterns found in southern populations of A. sylvaticus and M. spretus, compared with
northern ones, implies that very subtle species/population-specific features and/or non-conspicuous
environmental cues probably operate to determine their seasonal breeding pattern. These results
also support the notion that multiple models of circannual testis variation are possible for different
populations of the same species, showing that the mechanisms controlling seasonal reproduction are
in fact very plastic and fast evolving.