Puberty in male collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) determined by quantitative analysis of spermatogenic cells

Acta Amazonica

Diva Anelie Guimarães²  Deise De Lima Cardoso²  Maria Auxiliadora Pantoja Ferreira²  Natália Inagaki De Albuquerque¹ 

[1] ,Universidade Federal do Pará Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Belém Pará ,Brazil

关键词: reproduction;    testicles;    spermatogenesis;    Tayassuidae;    reprodução;    testículos;    espermatogênese;    Tayassuidae;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0044-59672013000100012

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Biological studies are necessary for the management of wildlife in captivity, and knowledge of reproduction is one of the important features for increasing production. The objective of the research was to determine the age at which male collared peccaries reach puberty. Testicular samples of 15 animals, aged 7 to 16 months, distributed into five groups (G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5) were used. The testes showed considerably increased weight, length and width (p < 0.05) from G1 to G3, whereas, from this group onward, the development of this organ was slower. There was positive correlation (p < 0.001) between the following testicular parameters: weight and length (r = 0.97), weight and width (r = 0.88), length and width (r = 0.92). Regarding the diameter of seminiferous tubules, an increase was observed (p < 0.05) from G1 to G4. The total number of spermatogenic cells increased significantly (p < 0.05) until G3 and then it stabilized. There was also positive correlation between testis weight and tubular diameter (r = 0.99, p < 0.001), and testis weight and spermatogenic cells (r = 0.98, p < 0.001). The number of Sertoli cells decreased significantly (p < 0.05) from G1, when they were undifferentiated as support cells, to G5, when they occurred together with the complete line of spermatic cells. The results demonstrate that the reproductive development of peccaries can be classified into the following stages: impuberty (G1, 7-8 months); pre-pubertal (G2, 9-10 months); pubertal (G3, 11-12 months); post-pubertal 1 (G4, 13-14 months); and post-pubertal 2 (G5, 15-16 months). Based on the histological analyses, puberty in the male collared peccary was determined to occur between 11 and 12 months of age.

【 授权许可】

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