Identification of cortical germ cells in adult ovaries from three phyllostomid bats: Artibeus jamaicensis, Glossophaga soricina and Sturnira lilium.

It is generally considered that, in mammals, the ovary is endowed with a finite number of oocytes at the time of birth. However, studies concerning rodents, lemurs and humans suggest the existence of stem cells from the germline that may be involved in germ-cell renewal, maintaining postnatal follicle development. This type of work on wild species is scarce; therefore the objective of this study was to determine ovarian morphology and the presence of progenitor cells from the germline of three species of phyllostomid bats (Artibeus jamaicensis, Glossophaga soricina and Sturnira lilium). The morphological characteristics of the ovaries and the expression of specific markers of germline cells, stem cells and proliferation cells were analysed. The morphology of the ovaries of the three bat species was similar. A polarised ovary with follicles at different stages of development and groups of cortical cells similar to primordial germ cells were observed. Immunofluorescent analysis showed that these cortical cells express germline, stem-cell and proliferative markers, indicating the identification of germ cells that could maintain pluripotency, as well as being mitotically active. This suggests that in the adult ovary of phyllostomid bats there may be a mechanism for the self-renewal of the germline.