Comparative liver morphology associated with the hepatosomatic index in five Neotropical anuran species

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T12:24:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-10-28 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Fundacao Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul - UFMS/MEC DS-CA scholarship The liver is an important metabolic organ in vertebrates. In anurans, the hepatosomatic index (HSI) reflects differences in energy storage and reproductive activities between males and females. The objective of this study was to describe the histological and histometric parameters of the livers of five species of Neotropical anurans, taking sex-related differences into account. We also tested how the relationship between quantitative histometric variables and HSI varied between males and females in different species. Five males and five females of Elachistocleis matogrosso, Leptodactylus podicipinus, Lysapsus limellum, Pseudis platensis, and Trachycephalus typhonius were captured in central Brazil during the rainy season. HSI did not vary according to sex, but it varied among species. Elachistocleis matogrosso had the highest HSI due to the large hepatocyte size. The percentage of melanomacrophage centers (MMCs) was higher in P. platensis and L. limellum. In T. thyphonius, hepatocyte area was negatively associated with HSI, while the MMC percentages were positively associated with HSI. The liver plays a key role in reproductive activities, especially for species with explosive reproduction. Additionally, histometric patterns and volumetric structural density varied between males and females due to energy utilization for reproduction. Not only are these results important for future studies on hepatic morphophysiology but they also provide tools for evolutionary and phylogenetic studies. Univ Fed Mato Grosso do Sul, Inst Biosci, Grad Program Anim Biol, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil Univ Fed Mato Grosso do Sul, Inst Biosci, Lab Expt Pathol, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Biol, Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Biol, Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil CNPq: 304552/2019-4 FAPESP: 2018/01078-7