The visual system is affected by neurodegenerative diseases caused by the degeneration of specific retinal neurons,the leading cause of irreversible blindness in humans.Throughout vertebrate phylogeny,the retina has t...The visual system is affected by neurodegenerative diseases caused by the degeneration of specific retinal neurons,the leading cause of irreversible blindness in humans.Throughout vertebrate phylogeny,the retina has two kinds of specialized niches of constitutive neurogenesis:the retinal progenitors located in the circumferential marginal zone and Müller glia.The proliferative activity in the retinal progenitors located in the circumferential marginal zone in precocial birds such as the chicken,the commonest bird model used in developmental and regenerative studies,is very low.This region adds only a few retinal cells to the peripheral edge of the retina during several months after hatching,but does not seem to be involved in retinal regeneration.Müller cells in the chicken retina are not proliferative under physiological conditions,but after acute damage some of them undergo a reprogramming event,dedifferentiating into retinal stem cells and generating new retinal neurons.Therefore,regenerative response after injury occurs with low efficiency in the precocial avian retina.In contrast,it has recently been shown that neurogenesis is intense in the retina of altricial birds at hatching.In particular,abundant proliferative activity is detected both in the circumferential marginal zone and in the outer half of the inner nuclear layer.Therefore,stem cell niches are very active in the retina of altricial birds.Although more extensive research is needed to assess the potential of proliferating cells in the adult retina of altricial birds,it emerges as an attractive model for studying different aspects of neurogenesis and neural regeneration in vertebrates.展开更多
Avian alarm calls mediate defenses against brood parasites and predators. These calls facilitate communication among adults and alert nestlings to potential danger. While heterospecific call recognition has been exten...Avian alarm calls mediate defenses against brood parasites and predators. These calls facilitate communication among adults and alert nestlings to potential danger. While heterospecific call recognition has been extensively studied in adult birds, nestlings—lacking direct predation experience and heterospecific alarm exposure—represent an ideal system to investigate the response to interspecific warning cues. This study explored the recognition capabilities of 5–6-day-old nestlings in Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), a common host of the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). We exposed the nestlings to playbacks of alarm calls directed at parasites and raptors from conspecific, Vinous-throated Parrotbill (Sinosuthora webbiana, sympatric species), Isabelline Shrike (Lanius isabellinus, allopatric species) and Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius, allopatric species) adults. Results indicated that there was no significant difference in the responses of nestlings to the alarm calls of conspecific and allopatric adults directed at cuckoos and sparrowhawks. In addition, interestingly, nestlings significantly reduced their begging in response to conspecific and unfamiliar allopatric Isabelline Shrike and Common Tailorbird alarm calls but exhibited a weak response to the sympatric Vinous-throated Parrotbill. Whether older warbler nestlings with more social experience exhibit stronger responses to the alarm calls of Vinous-throated Parrotbill adults requires further investigation.展开更多
基金This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología(BFU2007-67540)Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad(CGL2015-64650P)+1 种基金Dirección General de Investigación del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia(BFU2017-85547-P)Junta de Extremadura,Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional,“Una manera de hacer Europa”(GR15158,GR18114,IB18113).
文摘The visual system is affected by neurodegenerative diseases caused by the degeneration of specific retinal neurons,the leading cause of irreversible blindness in humans.Throughout vertebrate phylogeny,the retina has two kinds of specialized niches of constitutive neurogenesis:the retinal progenitors located in the circumferential marginal zone and Müller glia.The proliferative activity in the retinal progenitors located in the circumferential marginal zone in precocial birds such as the chicken,the commonest bird model used in developmental and regenerative studies,is very low.This region adds only a few retinal cells to the peripheral edge of the retina during several months after hatching,but does not seem to be involved in retinal regeneration.Müller cells in the chicken retina are not proliferative under physiological conditions,but after acute damage some of them undergo a reprogramming event,dedifferentiating into retinal stem cells and generating new retinal neurons.Therefore,regenerative response after injury occurs with low efficiency in the precocial avian retina.In contrast,it has recently been shown that neurogenesis is intense in the retina of altricial birds at hatching.In particular,abundant proliferative activity is detected both in the circumferential marginal zone and in the outer half of the inner nuclear layer.Therefore,stem cell niches are very active in the retina of altricial birds.Although more extensive research is needed to assess the potential of proliferating cells in the adult retina of altricial birds,it emerges as an attractive model for studying different aspects of neurogenesis and neural regeneration in vertebrates.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32301295 to JW, 32101242 to LM, and 32260253 to LW)High-Level Talents Research Start-Up Project of Hebei University (No. 521100222044 to JW)
文摘Avian alarm calls mediate defenses against brood parasites and predators. These calls facilitate communication among adults and alert nestlings to potential danger. While heterospecific call recognition has been extensively studied in adult birds, nestlings—lacking direct predation experience and heterospecific alarm exposure—represent an ideal system to investigate the response to interspecific warning cues. This study explored the recognition capabilities of 5–6-day-old nestlings in Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), a common host of the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). We exposed the nestlings to playbacks of alarm calls directed at parasites and raptors from conspecific, Vinous-throated Parrotbill (Sinosuthora webbiana, sympatric species), Isabelline Shrike (Lanius isabellinus, allopatric species) and Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius, allopatric species) adults. Results indicated that there was no significant difference in the responses of nestlings to the alarm calls of conspecific and allopatric adults directed at cuckoos and sparrowhawks. In addition, interestingly, nestlings significantly reduced their begging in response to conspecific and unfamiliar allopatric Isabelline Shrike and Common Tailorbird alarm calls but exhibited a weak response to the sympatric Vinous-throated Parrotbill. Whether older warbler nestlings with more social experience exhibit stronger responses to the alarm calls of Vinous-throated Parrotbill adults requires further investigation.