Morphological and physiological traits of the respiratory system in Iguana iguana and other non-avian reptiles.

Autor: da Cruz AL; Institute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Barão de Jeremoabo 147, Ondina, CEP 40170-115 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Electronic address: cruz.andre@ufba.br., Vilela B; Institute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Barão de Jeremoabo 147, Ondina, CEP 40170-115 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Electronic address: bruno.vilela@ufba.br., Klein W; School of Philosophy, Sciences and Literature of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900. Monte Alegre, CEP 14040-900 Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: wklein@usp.br.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Zoology (Jena, Germany) [Zoology (Jena)] 2023 Apr; Vol. 157, pp. 126079. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Feb 22.
DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2023.126079
Abstrakt: Functional morphology considers form and function to be intrinsically related. To understand organismal functions, a detailed knowledge of morphological and physiological traits is necessary. Regarding the respiratory system, the combined knowledge about pulmonary morphology and respiratory physiology is fundamental to understand how animals exchange gases and regulate critical functions to sustain metabolic activity. In the present study, the paucicameral lungs of Iguana iguana were analyzed morphometrically through stereological analysis using light and transmission electron images and compared with unicameral and multicameral lungs of six other non-avian reptiles. The morphological data were combined with physiological information to perform a principal component analysis (PCA) and phylogenetic tests of the relationship of the respiratory system. Iguana iguana, Lacerta viridis, and Salvator merianae presented similar pulmonary morphologies and physiologies when compared to Varanus examthematicus, Gekko gecko, Trachemys scripta, and Crocodylus niloticus. The former species showed an elevated respiratory surface area (%A R ), a high diffusion capacity, a low volume of total parenchyma (V P ), a low percentage of parenchyma concerning the lung volume (V L ), and a higher surface/volume ratio of the parenchyma (S AR /V P ), with high respiratory frequency (f R ) and consequently total ventilation. The total parenchymal surface area (S A ), effective parenchymal surface-to-volume ratio (S AR /V P ), respiratory surface area (S AR ), and anatomical diffusion factor (ADF) showed a phylogenetic signal, evidence that the morphological traits are more strongly correlated with the species' phylogeny than the physiological traits. In sum, our results indicated that the pulmonary morphology is intrinsically related to physiological traits of the respiratory system. Furthermore, phylogenetic signal tests also indicate that morphological traits are more likely to be evolutionary conserved than physiological traits, suggesting that evolutive physiological adaptations in the respiratory system could happen faster than morphological changes.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2023 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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