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Year: 2019, Issue: June
Hormonal regulation of spermatogenesis in male bat Scotophilus heathi : A mini review.
Author:
Kavita Singh, Vikas Kumar Roy and Amitabh Krishna
Keyword:
Bat, Male, Spermatogenesis, Testosterone, Testis.
Bats are one fourth (1/4) of the world total mammalian fauna numbering about a thousand species, but their populations are in decline worldwide. In order to succeed in conservation effects, knowledge of the reproductive strategies of bats is of utmost importance. The insectivorous vespertilionid bat, S.heathi, is selected here for detailed investigation because these bats are global in distribution and cover tropical, temperate and other zones. Bats vary widely in form, eological requirements and reproductive adaptation. Reproductive patterns in bats are markedly different from those of other mammals and demonstrate numerous unique features in reproductive processes. Various unique reproductive features have been evolved in bats for optimum timing of reproductive events coincides with the diverse nutitional needs. In males, spermatogenic peak are attained in November and January-February. Second peak of spermatogenesis in January-February coinciding with the period of copulation. Testicular recrudescence which begins in late September proceeds rather slowly in October but is accelerated in November resulting in the successive appearance of all types of spermatogenic cells up to spermatozoa. An arrest of spermatogenic activity is noticed in December, which also coincides with the period of seasonal adiposity in S.heathi. Mechanism by which seasonal adiposity causes testicular regression in S.heathi during December is not known and requires detailed investigation. The testis remains quiescent from April to September.
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