Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate morphological characteristics and functional roles of vaginal plug formation and release in female hibernating Korean greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum korai) using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. Vaginal plug formation begins by part of semen first jetted from cervical region and secretions of vaginal epithelium immediately after mating (at the end of August). These secretions are gradually solidified, accumulated, and moved toward the vaginal introitus while filling the vaginal lumen. This formation process continues through the copulation period and the hibernation period (from end of October to middle of March), maintaining vaginal plug throughout the next pregnancy period (from end of March to end of May). Finally, vaginal plug is discharged to the outside of vagina immediately before giving birth. Normal vaginal structures are taken from the nurturing period (from the beginning of June to the middle of August) and before mating period. Therefore, vaginal plug generated immediately after mating is important as a protective barrier to prevent re-mating with male. In addition, vaginal plug during pregnancy can protect fetus in the uterus from physical stimulation by preventing re-mating with male as a kind of defense mechanism to maintain healthy development of fetus in uterus.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baumgardner DJ, Hartung TG, Sawrey DK, Webster DG, Dewsbury DA (1982) Muroid copulatory plugs and female reproductive tract: a comparative investigation. J Mamm 63:110–117. https://doi.org/10.2307/1380677
Carballada R, Esponda P (1992) Role of fluid from seminal vesicles and coagulating glands in sperm transport into the uterus and fertility in rats. J Reprod Fertil 95:639–648. https://doi.org/10.1530/jrf.0.0950639
Carballada R, Esponda P (1993) Structure of the vaginal plugs generated by normal rats and by rats with partially removed seminal vesicles. J Exp Zool 265:61–68. https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.1402650109
Courrier R (1924) Le cycle sexuel chez la femelle des Mammifères. Ètude de la phase folliculaire Arch de Biol 34:369–477
Devine M (1975) Copulatory plugs in snakes: enforced chastity. Science 187:844–845. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1114329
Dewsbury DA (1988) A test of the role of copulatory plugs in sperm competition in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). J Mamm 69:854–857. https://doi.org/10.2307/1381648
Dixson AF (1998) Primate sexuality: comparative studies of the prosimians, monkeys, apes, and human beings. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Dixson AF, Anderson MJ (2002) Sexual selection, seminal coagulation and copulatory plug formation in primates. Folia Primatol (Basel) 73:63–69. https://doi.org/10.1159/000064784
Eadie WR (1948) Corpora amylacea in the prostatic secretion and experiments on the formation of the copulatory plug in some insectivores. Anat Rec 02:259–271. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.1091020210
Fries S (1879) Ueber die Fort pflanzung der einheimischem Chiropteren. Zool Anz 2:355–357
Gaisler J (1966) Reproduction in the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros hipposideros Bechstein, 1800). Bijdr Dierkd 36:45–62
Grosser O (1903) Die physiologische bindegewebige Atresie des Genitalkanales von Vesperugo noctula nach erfolgter Kohabitation. Verh anat Ges Jena 17:129–132
Hadek R (1969) Mammalian fertilisation. An atlas of ultrastructure. Academic Press, New York
Hartung TG, Dewsbury DA (1978) A comparative analysis of copulatory plugs in muroid rodents and their relationship to copulatory behavior. J Mamm 59:717–723. https://doi.org/10.2307/1380136
Jia Z, Duan E, Jiang Z, Wang Z (2002) Copulatory plugs in masked palm civets: prevention of semen leakage, sperm storage, or chastity enhancement? J Mamm 3:1035–1038. https://doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083%3c1035:cpimpc%3e2.0.co;2
Kitchener DJ (1975) Reproduction in female Gould’s wattled bat, Chalinolobus gouldii (gray) (Vespertiliondae), in Western Australia. Aust J Zool 23:29–42. https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO9750029
Krishna A, Dominic CJ (1978) Storage of sperm in the female genital tract of the vespertilionid bat, Scotophlus heathi. Reproduction 54:319–321. https://doi.org/10.1530/jrf.0.0540319
Mangels R, Young B, Keeble S, Ardekani R, Meslin C, Ferreira Z, Clark NL, Good JM, Dean MD (2015) Genetic and phenotypic influences on copulatory plug survival in mice. Heredity 115:486–502. https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2015.50
Mann T, Lutwak-Mann C (1981) Secretory function of the prostate, seminal vesicle, Cowper’s gland and other accessory organs of reproduction. In: Mann T, Lutwak-Mann C (eds) Male reproductive function and semen. Springer, London, pp 171–193
Martan J, Shepherd BA (1976) The role of the copulatory plug in reproduction of the guinea pig. J Exp Zool 196:79–84. https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.1401960108
Matthews LH (1937) The female sexual cycle in British horse-shoe bats, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum insulanus Barrett-Hamilton and R. hipposideros minutus. Trans Zool Soc Lond 23:213–223. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1937.tb00338.x
Matthews LH (1942) Notes on the genitalia and reproduction of some African rats. Proc Zool Soc Lond B111:289–342. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1942.tb00053.x
Michener GR (1984) Copulatory plugs in Richardson’s ground squirrels. Can J Zool 62:267–270. https://doi.org/10.1139/z84-043
Mōri T, Uchida TA (1981) Ultrastructural observations of ovulation in the Japanese long-fingered bat, Miniopterus schreibersii fuliginosus. J Reprod Fertil 63:391–395. https://doi.org/10.1530/jrf.0.0630391
Mosig DW, Dewsbury DA (1970) Plug fate in the copulatory behavior of rats. Psychon Sci 20:315–316. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329086
Oh YK, Mōri T, Uchida TA (1983) Studies on the vaginal plug of the Japanese greater horseshoe bat, Rhinilophus ferrumequinum nippon. J Reprod Fertil 68:365–369. https://doi.org/10.1530/jrf.0.0680365
Parker GA (1970) Sperm competition and its evolutionary consequences in the insects. Biol Rev 45:525–567. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.tb01176.x
Racey PA (1975) The prolonged survival of sperm in bats. In: Duckett JG, Racey PA (eds) The biology of the male gamete. Academic Press, London, pp 385–416
Racey PA, Suzuki F, Medway L (1975) The relationship between stored spermatozoa and the oviducal epithelium in bat of the genus Tylonycteris. In: Hafez ESE, Thibault CG (eds) The biology of spermatozoa: transport, survival and fertilizing ability. S. Karger, Basel, pp 123–133
Reeder EM (1939) Cytology of the reproductive tract of the female bat Myotis lucifugus lucifugus. J Morphol 64:431–453. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.1050640304
Rollinat R, Trouessart EL, Jones FW (1897) Sur la reproduction des chauves-souris. Société Zoologique, Paris
Sofikitis N, Takahaski C, Nakamura I, Kadowaki H, Okazaki T, Shimamoto T, Miyagawa I (1990) The role of rat copulatory plug for fertilization. Acta Eur Fertil 21:155–158 (PMID: 2073020)
Stockley P (1997) Sexual conflict resulting from adaptations to sperm competition. Trends Ecol Evol 12:154–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(97)01000-8
Sutter A, Simmons LW, Lindholm AK, Firman RC (2016) Function of copulatory plugs in house mice: mating behavior and paternity outcomes of rival males. Behav Ecol 27:185–195. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv138
Voss R (1979) Male accessory glands and the evolution of copulatory plugs in rodents. Occas Pap Zool Univ Mich 689:1–27
Williams-Ashman HG (1984) Transglutaminases and the clotting of mammalian seminal fluids. Mol Cell Biochem 58:51–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00240604
Funding
The author received no financial support for this research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Jung-Hun Lee declares he has no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
All applicable international, national and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, JH. Vaginal plug formation and release in female hibernating Korean greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum korai (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) during the annual reproductive cycle. Zoomorphology 139, 123–129 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-019-00467-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-019-00467-z