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New horizons in the reproductive biology of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) using the gonadal hormonal profile

The reproductive uniqueness of pangolins has been documented through diverse biological reports with discernible data discrepancies in gestation, copulation, and pregnancy. These mechanistic reproductive differences have yet to be endocrinologically quantified, which could assist in optimizing natur...

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Autores principales: Arora, Bharti, Pei, Kurtis Jai-Chyi, Chin, Shih-Chien
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group UK 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10547839/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37789068
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-43237-0
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author Arora, Bharti
Pei, Kurtis Jai-Chyi
Chin, Shih-Chien
author_facet Arora, Bharti
Pei, Kurtis Jai-Chyi
Chin, Shih-Chien
author_sort Arora, Bharti
collection PubMed
description The reproductive uniqueness of pangolins has been documented through diverse biological reports with discernible data discrepancies in gestation, copulation, and pregnancy. These mechanistic reproductive differences have yet to be endocrinologically quantified, which could assist in optimizing natural breeding in zoos to recover endangered species. The present research characterizes the Chinese pangolin's annual seasonal reproductive pattern by measuring immunoreactive estrogens and progestagens in 34 captive females and testosterone in 29 captive males. Our results showed that Chinese pangolins are seasonal breeders, with most births witnessed during Sept–Dec, overlapping with the field records. Females exhibited spontaneous ovulation and post-partum ovulation. Pregnant females exhibited a higher P4 level for ~ 9 months (Jan–Sept) and decreased before parturition (Oct–Dec). The circulating E2 is maintained at the baseline in pregnant females year-round. Contrastingly, in non-pregnant females, P4 is maintained at the baseline, apart from a slight elevation in January, and E2 demonstrates a sudden hike from November and remains elevated until February, suggesting the onset of ovulation. The serum testosterone concentration in males peaked during October, which is in sync with the female ovulation period. As a result that their major reproductive events, ovulation, mating, and parturition, all transpire in November-March. Evidence also supports that Chinese pangolins exhibit signs of postimplantation (pregnancy) ranging only from 5 to 6 months (May–Oct), preceded by possible facultative delay implantation triggered by lactation. The provided data not only fill in the knowledge gap for this critically endangered species but can also assist in making informed decisions, which can directly affect the successful breeding of this species in captivity.
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spelling pubmed-105478392023-10-05 New horizons in the reproductive biology of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) using the gonadal hormonal profile Arora, Bharti Pei, Kurtis Jai-Chyi Chin, Shih-Chien Sci Rep Article The reproductive uniqueness of pangolins has been documented through diverse biological reports with discernible data discrepancies in gestation, copulation, and pregnancy. These mechanistic reproductive differences have yet to be endocrinologically quantified, which could assist in optimizing natural breeding in zoos to recover endangered species. The present research characterizes the Chinese pangolin's annual seasonal reproductive pattern by measuring immunoreactive estrogens and progestagens in 34 captive females and testosterone in 29 captive males. Our results showed that Chinese pangolins are seasonal breeders, with most births witnessed during Sept–Dec, overlapping with the field records. Females exhibited spontaneous ovulation and post-partum ovulation. Pregnant females exhibited a higher P4 level for ~ 9 months (Jan–Sept) and decreased before parturition (Oct–Dec). The circulating E2 is maintained at the baseline in pregnant females year-round. Contrastingly, in non-pregnant females, P4 is maintained at the baseline, apart from a slight elevation in January, and E2 demonstrates a sudden hike from November and remains elevated until February, suggesting the onset of ovulation. The serum testosterone concentration in males peaked during October, which is in sync with the female ovulation period. As a result that their major reproductive events, ovulation, mating, and parturition, all transpire in November-March. Evidence also supports that Chinese pangolins exhibit signs of postimplantation (pregnancy) ranging only from 5 to 6 months (May–Oct), preceded by possible facultative delay implantation triggered by lactation. The provided data not only fill in the knowledge gap for this critically endangered species but can also assist in making informed decisions, which can directly affect the successful breeding of this species in captivity. Nature Publishing Group UK 2023-10-03 /pmc/articles/PMC10547839/ /pubmed/37789068 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-43237-0 Text en © The Author(s) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Article
Arora, Bharti
Pei, Kurtis Jai-Chyi
Chin, Shih-Chien
New horizons in the reproductive biology of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) using the gonadal hormonal profile
title New horizons in the reproductive biology of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) using the gonadal hormonal profile
title_full New horizons in the reproductive biology of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) using the gonadal hormonal profile
title_fullStr New horizons in the reproductive biology of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) using the gonadal hormonal profile
title_full_unstemmed New horizons in the reproductive biology of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) using the gonadal hormonal profile
title_short New horizons in the reproductive biology of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) using the gonadal hormonal profile
title_sort new horizons in the reproductive biology of chinese pangolin (manis pentadactyla) using the gonadal hormonal profile
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10547839/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37789068
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-43237-0
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