What is hiding in the Bufo skin? Revealing of the structures in the skin of European toads using standard histological and micro-CT techniques
2022
Аутори:
Cvijanović, MilenaAjduković, Maja
Ivanović, Ana
Arntzen, Jan
Остала ауторства
Crnobrnja-Isailović, JelkaVukov, Tanja
Vučić, Tijana
Tomović, Ljiljana
Тип документа:
Конференцијски прилог (Објављена верзија)
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© 2022 Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković" – National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade
Метаподаци
Приказ свих података о документуАпстракт:
In the skin of many terrestrial anuran taxa, a specific acellular mineralized tissue
layer (the Eberth-Katschenko layer) has been documented. This layer is generally
positioned in between the stratum spongiosum and the stratum compactum of the
dermis and has a role in reducing water loss. Here, we document and compare the
amount of calcium deposition in the skin of the head and the parotoids (the external
skin glands) in males and females of the common toad Bufo bufo and the spined toad B.
spinosus. Bufo bufo and B. spinosus are morphologically similar and both show a
conspicuous sexual dimorphism. Using standard histological techniques, we detected
calcium as an amorphous ‘ground substance’ located in the stratum spongiosum, just
above the Eberth-Katschenko layer. We observed large variability in the number of
calcium deposits between the species and the sexes. Using micro-computed
tomography (micro-CT) we were able to quantify the level of the toad skin calcification.
Bufo spinosus females stand out compared to conspecific males and B. bufo on account
of a strong calcification of the dorsal and ventral skin and the parotoid glands. Species
and sexes significantly differed in the amount of calcium deposits (Fisher’s exact test,
p < 0.001) and pairwise comparisons showed that groups differed from one another (p
< 0.05), suggesting size and sexual dimorphism in these traits. We conclude that microCT scanning is useful for the quantification of calcified structures in the anuran skin,
and keeps a promise for further studies on taxonomic and geographic variation.
У:
- Crnobrnja-Isailović J, Vukov T, Vučić T, Tomović Lj, editors. Program and Book of Abstracts: the 21st European Congress of Herpetology; 2022 Sep 5-9; Belgrade, Serbia. Belgrade: Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković"– National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade; 2022. p. 32.