In female Gambian hamster mice, the vaginal opening may close during adulthood. Cornell University reports.
Gambian hamster mice live in Africa and are large (up to half a meter) rodents from the mouse order. They differ from ordinary mice in the presence of cheek pouches like those of hamsters, which allows them to make large quantities of provisions. In addition, in the last decade it turned out that these animals are excellent at detecting mines and tuberculosis patients, raising a mouse is several times cheaper than raising a dog. In this regard, it began to be used for these purposes, but the problem of breeding these animals in captivity has not been fully resolved.
Alex Ophir and colleagues discoveredThe regulation of the reproductive cycle in these animals is unusually arranged. Many animals, including dogs, breed at certain times of the year and are not amenable to mating at other times, and this process is regulated by hormones. However, the vaginal opening may be obstructed in some Gambian hamster rats. The obstruction is characterized by reduction in uterine size and closure of the vaginal opening, and these changes appear to be reversible.
Scientists have no explanation for this phenomenon. One hypothesis is that “dominant” female mice may send signals to other females that cause the passages to close via pheromones or odors in the urine. According to another theory, this is due to competition for limited food resources, as a decrease in the number of children born to others may mean more resources for one’s own children.
In future work, the authors hope to understand exactly how and why animals receive the signal to close their vaginas.
Source: Gazeta
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