RT Journal Article
T1 Do fossorial water voles have a functional vomeronasal organ? A histological and immunohistochemical study
A1 Ruiz Rubio, Sara
A1 Ortiz‐Leal, Irene
A1 Torres, Mateo V.
A1 Somoano, Aitor
A1 Sánchez Quinteiro, Pablo
K1 Fossorial water vole
K1 Immunohistochemistry
K1 Kairomones
K1 Pest
K1 Pheromones
K1 Vomeronasal
AB The fossorial water vole, Arvicola scherman, is an herbivorous rodent that causes significant agricultural damages. The application of cairomones and alarm pheromones emerges as a promising sustainable method to improve its integrated management. These chemical signals would induce stress responses that could interfere with the species regular reproductive cycles and induce aversive reactions, steering them away from farmlands and meadows. However, there is a paucity of information regarding the water vole vomeronasal system, both in its morphological foundations and its functionality, making it imperative to understand the same for the application of chemical communication in pest control. This study fills the existing gaps in knowledge through a morphological and immunohistochemical analysis of the fossorial water vole vomeronasal organ. The study is primarily microscopic, employing two approaches: histological, using serial sections stained with various dyes (hematoxylin–eosin, Periodic acid-Schiff, Alcian blue, Nissl), and immunohistochemical, applying various markers that provide morphofunctional and structural information. These procedures have confirmed the presence of a functional vomeronasal system in fossorial water voles, characterized by a high degree of differentiation and a significant expression of cellular markers indicative of active chemical communication in this species.
PB Wiley
SN 1932-8486
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/33190
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/33190
LA eng
NO Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology
NO This work was supported by grants from “Consello Social Universidade de Santiago de Compostela” 2022-PU004 and “Consellería do Medio Rural da XUNTA de GALICIA.”
DS Minerva
RD 25 abr 2026