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Distinctive features of hepatocytes in five small mammal species (insectivores and rodents): taxonomic versus ecological specificity

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Abstract

Morphometric parameters of hepatocytes have been studied in five small mammal species with different ecological specificity from two taxonomic groups: a surface-dwelling insectivore (the common shrew, Sorex araneus), a subterranean insectivore (the European mole, Talpa europaea), surface-dwelling rodents (the bank vole, Myodes glareolus and herb field mouse, Apodemus uralensis) and a subterranean rodent (the northern mole vole, Ellobius talpinus). The results show that the hepatocytes of the European mole differ markedly from those of all other species, being characterized by smaller size and nuclear area, low anisocytosis and anisokaryosis, the almost complete absence of binuclear cells and, on the other hand, high nuclear–cytoplasmic ratio and packing density. The common shrew differs from the European mole containing a relatively high proportion of binuclear hepatocytes, and the size of hepatocytes in this species is smaller than in rodents. Differences in the parameters of these cells between rodents are minimal or absent. The differences observed in the characteristics of hepatocytes between the above species cannot be explained solely by either taxonomic or ecological specificity. Comparative research involving a greater number of closely related species (at the levels of families and orders) is needed to reveal and evaluate the taxonomic and ecological specificity of hepatocytes in greater detail.

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Acknowledgements

We thank E.L. Vorobeichik, L.E. Lukyanova, K.I. Berdyugin, N.A. Gorgolyuk and the anonymous referees for their insightful comments on the manuscript. This study was supported by the Integrated Research Program of the Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Project no. 15-3-4-28.

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  1. Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia

    Yulia A. Davydova, D. V. Nesterkova, S. V. Mukhacheva, M. V. Chibiryak & N. V. Sineva

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  1. Yulia A. Davydova
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  2. D. V. Nesterkova
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  3. S. V. Mukhacheva
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Correspondence to Yulia A. Davydova.

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All applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Russian Academy of Sciences (Protocol No. 3 of 18/12/2014).

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Davydova, Y.A., Nesterkova, D.V., Mukhacheva, S.V. et al. Distinctive features of hepatocytes in five small mammal species (insectivores and rodents): taxonomic versus ecological specificity. Zoomorphology 136, 539–548 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-017-0368-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-017-0368-5

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