Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 2 of 2 items for
- Author: Miguel Angel Brieño-Enriquez x
- Refine by access: All content x
Search for other papers by Ned J Place in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Alexandra M Prado in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Mariela Faykoo-Martinez in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Miguel Angel Brieño-Enriquez in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by David F Albertini in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Search for other papers by Melissa M Holmes in
Google Scholar
PubMed
The naked mole-rat (NMR, Heterocephalus glaber) is renowned for its eusociality and exceptionally long lifespan (> 30 y) relative to its small body size (35–40 g). A NMR phenomenon that has received far less attention is that females show no decline in fertility or fecundity into their third decade of life. The age of onset of reproductive decline in many mammalian species is closely associated with the number of germ cells remaining at the age of sexual maturity. We quantified ovarian reserve size in NMRs at the youngest age (6 months) when subordinate females can begin to ovulate after removal from the queen’s suppression. We then compared the NMR ovarian reserve size to values for 19 other mammalian species that were previously reported. The NMR ovarian reserve at 6 months of age is exceptionally large at 108,588 ± 69,890 primordial follicles, which is more than 10-fold larger than in mammals of a comparable size. We also observed germ cell nests in ovaries from 6-month-old NMRs, which is highly unusual since breakdown of germ cell nests and the formation of primordial follicles is generally complete by early postnatal life in other mammals. Additionally, we found germ cell nests in young adult NMRs between 1.25 and 3.75 years of age, in both reproductively activated and suppressed females. The unusually large NMR ovarian reserve provides one mechanism to account for this species’ protracted fertility. Whether germ cell nests in adult ovaries contribute to the NMR’s long reproductive lifespan remains to be determined.
Search for other papers by Gretchen M Rosado in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Ana Martinez-Marchal in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Search for other papers by Mariela Faykoo-Martinez in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Search for other papers by Melissa M Holmes in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Miguel Angel Brieño-Enríquez in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Recently, we described that in the naked mole rat ovary it is possible to study the ovarian reserve and the mitotic expansion of the germ cell postnatally. Herein, we show oocyte in vitro maturation and in vitro germ cell expansion using the same ovary.
