Specialized mucous glands and their possible adaptive role in the males of some species of <i>rana</i> (amphibia, anura)

Brizzi, R.; Delfino, Giovanni; Pellegrini, Roberta

doi:10.1002/jmor.10039

Cited by 59 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Mucous glands are typically small and widely distributed over the body and produce an acidic secretion containing carbohydrates (Fontana et al, 2006). Substances in the mucus can attract bacteria and fungi, which can be a food source for these microorganisms (Ducklow and Michell, 1979;Duellman and Trueb, 1986;Brizzi et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of cutaneous bacteria with antifungal activity isolated from female four-toed salamanders

et al. 2007

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Among the microbiota of amphibian skin are bacteria that produce antifungal compounds. We isolated cutaneous bacteria from the skins of three populations of the nest-attending plethodontid salamander Hemidactylium scutatum and subsequently tested the bacterial isolates against two different fungi (related to Mariannaea elegans and Rhizomucor variabilis) that were obtained from dead salamander eggs. The culturable antifungal bacteria were phylogenetically characterized based on 16S rRNA phylogeny, and belonged to four phyla, comprising 14 bacterial families, 16 genera and 48 species. We found that about half of the antifungal bacterial genera and families were shared with a related salamander species, but there was virtually no overlap at the species level. The proportion of culturable antifungal bacterial taxa shared between two large populations of H. scutatum was the same as the proportion of taxa shared between H. scutatum and Plethodon cinereus, suggesting that populations within a species have unique antifungal bacterial species. Approximately 30% of individuals from both salamander species carried anti-M. elegans cutaneous bacteria and almost 90% of P. cinereus and 100% of H. scutatum salamanders carried anti-R. variabilis cutaneous bacteria. A culture independent method (PCR/DGGE) revealed a shared resident bacterial community of about 25% of the entire resident bacterial community within and among populations of H. scutatum. Thus, the culturable antifungal microbiota was far more variable on salamander skins than was the bacterial microbiota detected by PCR/DGGE. The resident cutaneous antifungal bacteria may play an important role in amphibians' innate defense against pathogens, including the lethal chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of cutaneous bacteria with antifungal activity isolated from female four-toed salamanders

et al. 2007

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“…The present morphological study revealed that the skin glands of T. karelinii are different in some aspects from those of the other anuran amphibians (Staub & Paladin 1997;Delfino et al 1999;Brizzi et al 2002). Serous glands of T. karelinii show large alveoli and are more numerous in dorsal skin when compared to ventral skin.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…In typical mucous glands, secretory epithelium consists of low prismatic or cubic cells limiting large lumen containing non-granular or vesicular secretory material. In addition, the diameter of these glands is smaller than that of serous glands (Dapson 1970;Dominguez et al 1981;Brizzi et al 2002), which is common in amphibians. In T. karelinii, we determined two types of mucous glands according to their morphology and histochemical affinity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The morphology of the dorsal and ventral skin of Triturus karelinii (Caudata: Salamandridae)

Bingöl-Ozakpinar

Murathanoğlu

2011

Biologia

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In this study, for the first time, the morphology of the dorsal and ventral skin of Triturus karelinii using light microscopy through histochemical methods was described. The skin exhibited basic morphological characteristics of the other urodeles: the epidermis composed of keratinized stratified epithelium with numerous conical protrusions and the dermis subdivided into spongy and compact layers. In the spongious dermis, three distinct types of glands were observed, namely serous, mucous and mixed glands. These glands were alveolar and occurred in both males and females. The morphologies of all three skin glands differed from anurans and other urodeles, having peculiar characteristics. Serous glands exhibited three different appearances. An unusual finding in mucous glands was the different appearance of their granules, showing diverse density after staining with PAS and AB. The histochemical analysis clearly demonstrated the presence of neutral, acid and sulfated mucins in the adenocytes of mucous glands. Mixed glands formed by mucous and serous glands exhibited the same morphological traits of both types of glands. Light microscopic observations revealed that the dorsal and ventral skin showed structural similarities with some minor differences, possibly resulting from their functions.

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“…However, the majority of the anuran species have not had their gland content examined by science and so remain unknown. The cutaneous gland ultrastructural characterization of all living amphibians demonstrates that they usually belong to four main types located in the spongious dermis differing from others in size and secretory activity, and can be classified as: mucous, serous (granular or poison), lipid (or wax), and mixed (seromucous) glands (Almeida et al, 2007;Brizzi et al, 2002;Duellmann & Trueb, 1994;Lacombe et al, 2000). Each gland presents specific action in homeostasis behavior: lipid glands promote the impermeabilization of the skin in order to decrease water loss (Castanho & De Luca, 2001); mucous glands produce mucus to support cutaneous functions, such as respiration, reproduction, thermoregulation, and defence (Toledo & Jared, 1995); serous glands, that are the largest and most widely distributed over the animal's body surface, act as a main element in amphibian passive chemical defence (Lacombe et al, 2000;Toledo & Jared, 1995).…”

Section: Anuran Skin Protective Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anuran Amphibians: A Huge and Threatened Factory of a Variety of Active Peptides with Potential Nanobiotechnological Applications in the Face of Amphibian Decline

Calderon¹,

Stábeli²

2011

Changing Diversity in Changing Environment

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Specialized mucous glands and their possible adaptive role in the males of some species of rana (amphibia, anura)

Cited by 59 publications

References 34 publications

Diversity of cutaneous bacteria with antifungal activity isolated from female four-toed salamanders

Diversity of cutaneous bacteria with antifungal activity isolated from female four-toed salamanders

The morphology of the dorsal and ventral skin of Triturus karelinii (Caudata: Salamandridae)

Anuran Amphibians: A Huge and Threatened Factory of a Variety of Active Peptides with Potential Nanobiotechnological Applications in the Face of Amphibian Decline

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