| endometrial recognition of pregnancy occurs in the grey short-tailed opossum ( monodelphis domestica). | in human pregnancy, recognition of an embryo within the uterus is essential to support the fetus through gestation. in most marsupials, such as the opossums, pregnancy is shorter than the oestrous cycle and the steroid hormone profile during pregnancy and oestrous cycle are indistinguishable. for these reasons, it was assumed that recognition of pregnancy, as a trait, evolved in the eutherian (placental) stem lineage and independently in wallabies and kangaroos. to investigate whether uterine re ... | 2019 | 31213185 |
| influence of temperature on motor behaviors in newborn opossums (monodelphis domestica): an in vitro study. | external thermosensation is crucial to regulate animal behavior and homeostasis, but the development of the mammalian thermosensory system is not well known. we investigated whether temperature could play a role in the control of movements in a mammalian model born very immature, the opossum (monodelphis domestica). like other marsupials, at birth the opossum performs alternate and rhythmic movements with its forelimbs (fls) to reach a teat where it attaches in order to continue its development. ... | 2020 | 31097626 |
| detection of anti-toxoplasma gondii antibodies in small wild mammals from preserved and non-preserved areas in the caatinga biome, a semi-arid region of northeast brazil. | this study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of anti-toxoplasma gondii antibodies in 152 free-living small wild mammals from distinct regions in the caatinga biome, a semi-arid region in the northeast of brazil: the national park of serra das confusões (npsc), which is a preserved area in the state of piauí, and the municipalities of petrolina and lagoa grande, two non-preserved areas in the state of pernambuco. using the modified agglutination test (mat), we found that 5.3% (4/75) a ... | 2018 | 31014742 |
| γδ t cells are the predominant t cell type in opossum mammaries during lactation. | milk provides mammalian neonates with nutritional support and passive immunity. this is particularly true in marsupials where young are born highly altricial and lacking many components of a fully functional adaptive immune system. here we investigated the t cell populations in the mammaries of a lactating marsupial, the gray short-tailed opossum monodelphis domestica. immunohistochemistry confirmed the presence of t cells within the opossum mammaries throughout lactation. results of quantifying ... | 2019 | 30768943 |
| rolling of the jaw is essential for mammalian chewing and tribosphenic molar function. | over the past two centuries, mammalian chewing and related anatomical features have been among the most discussed of all vertebrate evolutionary innovations1-3. chief among these features are two characters: the dentary-only mandible, and the tribosphenic molar with its triangulated upper cusps and lower talonid basin3-5. the flexible mandibular joint and the unfused symphysis of ancestral mammals-in combination with transformations of the adductor musculature and palate-are thought to have perm ... | 2019 | 30760927 |
| detection of rickettsia spp. in ticks associated to wild mammals in northeastern brazil, with notes on an undetermined ornithodoros sp. collected from marsupials. | we report tick infestations and rickettsial detection in ticks infesting free-living wild mammals (monodelphis domestica, tolypeutes tricinctus, thrichomys inermis and kerodon rupestris) captured in the caatinga ecoregion of bahia state, northeastern brazil, during september to december 2016. overall, 117 ticks (61 larvae, 25 nymphs, 25 males, 6 females) belonging to two genera, and at least three species were collected: amblyomma auricularium, amblyomma parvum, amblyomma sp., ornithodoros rietc ... | 2018 | 30443697 |
| opossum milk igg is from maternal circulation and timing of transfer correlates with neonatal immune development. | marsupials, with short gestation times, have more complex and changing patterns of milk composition than eutherians. maternal immunoglobulins (ig) that confer immunity on offspring are among the components that change during marsupial lactation. in the present study we quantified the abundance of mammary transcripts encoding ig heavy chains and their corresponding transporters in the laboratory opossum monodelphis domestica. iga transcripts were the most abundant in opossum mammary and, with igm ... | 2019 | 30414624 |
| the mammalian decidual cell evolved from a cellular stress response. | among animal species, cell types vary greatly in terms of number and kind. the number of cell types found within an organism differs considerably between species, and cell type diversity is a significant contributor to differences in organismal structure and function. these observations suggest that cell type origination is a significant source of evolutionary novelty. the molecular mechanisms that result in the evolution of novel cell types, however, are poorly understood. here, we show that a ... | 2018 | 30142145 |
| neural coding of whisker-mediated touch in primary somatosensory cortex is altered following early blindness. | sensory systems do not develop and function independently of one another, yet they are typically studied in isolation. effects of multisensory interactions on the developing neocortex can be revealed by altering the ratios of incoming sensory inputs associated with different modalities. we investigated neural responses in primary somatosensory cortex (s1) of short-tailed opossums (monodelphis domestica; either sex) after the elimination of visual input through bilateral enucleation very early in ... | 2018 | 29807911 |