Hind foot drumming: Myosin heavy chain muscle fiber distribution in the hind limb muscles of three African mole-rat species (Bathyergidae)
| Autor: | Narusa S. Doubell, Nigel C. Bennett, Sanet H. Kotzé, Lauren Sahd |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Tibialis Cranialis
Histology Myosin Heavy Chains Mole Rats Muscle Fibers Skeletal Hindlimb Anatomy Biology Cryptomys hottentotus biology.organism_classification Myosin Mole Muscle Fibers Fast-Twitch Animals Bathyergus Muscle fibre Muscle Skeletal Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Foot (unit) Biotechnology |
| Zdroj: | Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007)REFERENCES. 305(1) |
| ISSN: | 1932-8494 |
| Popis: | Hind foot drumming as a form of seismic signalling plays a pivotal role in the communication of various mammalian species including Bathyergidae (African mole-rats). The aim of the present study was to histologically determine if the action of hind foot drumming would influence the number of type II fibres present in the hind limb muscles of two drumming (Georychus capensis and Bathyergus suillus) and one non-drumming (Cryptomys hottentotus natalensis) bathyergid species. Twenty-one frozen muscles of each species were selected for the purpose of mid-belly cryostat sections. These sections were immunohistochemically labelled for myosin heavy chain slow muscle fibres (MHC-I). In addition, oxidative capacity was determined by means of histochemical staining. A high percentage of fast type II muscle fibres was found in all the functional muscle groups, although there were no statistical differences between the drumming and non-drumming species. Bathyergus suillus had significantly fewer type II fibres in mm. semitendinosus, gluteofemoralis, tibialis cranialis, plantaris and the medial head of m. gastrocnemius compared to the other two species. In all three species, the majority of the muscle fibres in all functional muscle groups demonstrated low oxidative capacity which correlated with the expression of type II muscle fibres. It therefore seems likely that the number of type II muscle fibres in the hind limb muscles of the Bathyergidae species studied here is more influenced by either body size or digging strategy rather than being an adaptation for hind foot drumming. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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