|
|
Savci jako škůdci na ovocných dřevinách a v sadech
Benešová, Kateřina
The bachelor thesis deals with the negative impact of wild mammals on fruit trees and orchards. The main aim is to find out which mammal species are harmful to fruit trees and what types of damage they cause. Based on the literature, it is then possible to derive solutions to effectively protect against this damage. In addition, a questionnaire survey can also be used to address the problem. Damage to fruit trees is most common from rodents (Rodentia), even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla) and hares (Lagomorpha). Several important factors influence the impact of these mammals on fruit trees. Rodents cause the most damage at times of peak abundance, so regular monitoring is needed. Currently, there is a growing interest in biological control of mammals, where no chemical products are used. However, due to its immediate result and ease of application, chemical control still prevails.
|
|
|
Fylogenetická analýza peniální morfologie u novoguinejských hlodavců
KOVAŘÍK, Vojtěch
This study deals with the description of the penile and bacular morphology of New Guinean rodents. I documented and scored many qualitative and quantitative characters using the stereoscopic microscope and non-destructive microcomputer tomography machine (CT). The obtained data matrix was analyzed phylogenetically, which enabled me to reconstruct ancestral conditions for Rattini, and various subgroups of hydromyine rodents. I also identified a complex evolution of penile and bacular features, and also some perspectives for future investigations.
|
|
|
Proteomic architecture of sperm-egg interactions
Otčenášková, Tereza ; Stopka, Pavel (advisor) ; Petr, Jaroslav (referee) ; Vrbacký, Marek (referee)
Recent advances in proteomic methods provide new insights for biological research including the field of reproductive biology. Determination of the proteomic basis of spermatozoa is pivotal for understanding the complex process of gamete interactions during fertilization such as acrosome reaction. Great differences imposed by postcopulatory sexual selection and phylogeny can be observed regarding the size, shape, and molecular composition of sperm across animal taxa. The first objective of this doctoral thesis is to characterize the protein contents of the acrosome to ascertain its further functional significance in sperm-egg interaction. Also, we aim to investigate the potential relationships between sperm protein composition and sperm morphology diversification, risk of sperm competition, and species phylogenetic background. Wild-caught males from natural populations of species of Mus musculus musculus, Apodemus flavicollis, Microtus arvalis (order Rodentia), Acrocephalus palustris, Chloris chloris, Phylloscopus collybita, Cinclus cinclus, Hirundo rustica, and Taeniopygia guttata from a captive population (order Passeriformes) were subject to the analyses. Nano-liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was applied as the main methodological approach in this thesis. Our data implicate...
|
|
|
Use of animal models in Leishmania research
Pekařová, Julie ; Vojtková, Barbora (advisor) ; Pacáková, Lenka (referee)
Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by parasitic protozoa of the genus Leishmania, whose life cycle includes a mammalian host and an insect vector, typically of the genus Phlebotomus or Lutzomyia. While the number of vectors is limited, the spectrum of hosts is wide. Therefore, there are also many animal models that can be used for the study of different aspects of leishmaniasis. These include the study of the host's immune response, pathological manifestations of diseases, virulence factors or testing drugs and vaccines. Commonly used animal models are mainly rodents, which make up a large part of reservoir hosts of leishmaniasis. Examples of standard rodent models are the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus) and the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), however, higher models such as non-human primates or dogs are also being used. Animals that are relatively new to leishmaniasis research are wild rodents, which appear to be ideal experimental models for studying the natural dynamics of infections. Key words: animal models, laboratory animals, rodents, Leishmania, leishmaniasis
|
|
|
Intraspecific communication in rodents with a special focus on the model genus Rattus
Rychtecká, Eliška ; Rudolfová, Veronika (advisor) ; Vojtěchová, Iveta (referee)
The genus Rattus includes several dozen species. Among the most significant that I am focusing on in this work are the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), the black rat (Rattus rattus) and the Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans). Representatives of these species are social animals inhabiting different enviroments, whether they are tree canopies or burrow systems. Intraspecific communication of rodents is very diverse, specifically in the genus Rattus. According to the types of signals, intraspecific communication can be divided into acoustic, visual, tactile or chemical. We can distinguish multimodal communication as a special chapter, where signals from different modalities occur together, interwine or are gradually added to each other. Individual species of the genus Rattus can differ in the form of signals. Furthermore these signals also differ between individual sexes so we could set apart communication between males and females during mating. Key words: rodents, norway rat, black rat, communication, signal, vocalization, posture, marking
|
|
|
Diverzita a fylogenetické vztahy hlodavců v horských oblastech východní Afriky
KRÁSOVÁ, Jarmila
The Eastern Afromontane region of Africa is characterized by striking levels of endemism and species richness. Therefore, it was recognized as the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot (EAMBH) with numerous endemic plants and animals including mammals. Some parts of EAMBH (e.g. Ethiopian Highlands) are still under-represented in terms of biodiversity research in comparison with areas where sampling was relatively intensive in the last decades (e.g. Albertine Rift). This thesis describes genetic diversity, evolutionary history and taxonomy of several rodent species inhabiting mountain areas of Eastern Africa and Angola with a special focus on neglected areas such as Ethiopian and Angolan Highlands. Molecular-genetic analyses detected considerably higher diversity of small mammals than previously expected. Several candidates for new species were suggested and some of them also formally described based on phylogenetic and morphometric analyses. Molecular dating placed most of the diversifications into the eras of Pliocene and Pleistocene confirming the hypothesis that Plio-Pleistocene climate fluctuations together with topographically diverse landscape of Eastern Africa contributed to the high level of species diversity observed today.
|
|
|
Functional and pathological changes in the stomach of hosts infected with gastric cryptosporidia
MARKOVÁ, Marie
The aim of this study was to observe and record the effect of infection with gastric species of the genus Cryptosporidium on the gastric characteristics of their hosts. The species Cryptosporidium proliferans was used for a series of experimental infections, and three types of model hosts - BALB/c mice, C57Bl6 mice and multimammate mice (Mastomys coucha) - were used as experimental animals. Oocysts were detected in the faeces of infected animals by standard parasitological, specific staining and molecular methods and the course of infection and pathogenicity of the Cryptosporidium species were described. Groups of animals comprising of 1-3 animals were humanely euthanized at seven-day intervals up to 70 days after infection. C. proliferans was found to have a direct effect on pH change in selected host types, with an increase in pH at the peak of infection and, depending on the host type, either an increase until the end of the experiment or, in the case of self-healing, a gradual return to physiological values. Pathological changes of the gastric mucosa during the course of the infection were recorded by histological methods, which were its thickening and increased mucus production, as well as the presence of inflammatory infiltrates and the intensity of the infection, to varying degrees across the selected hosts and the course of the infection. We found that even with short-term infection in BALB/c and C57Bl6 mice, there is both mucosal enlargement and thickening, although the pathological changes in these types of mice are not as extensive as in multimammate mice, which do not self-heal.
|
|
|
Faktory ovlivňující excystaci žaludečních kryptosporidií hlodavců
SCHULZOVÁ, Tereza
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of host body temperature and en-vironmental pH on the excystation and preservation of the ability to infection of rodent gastric cryptosporidia oocysts. The infectivity of unexcysted oocysts was further examined. Immunodeficiency SCID mice (Mus musculus) were infected with C. proliferans oocysts, then their faeces were collected and individual experi-ments were performed. The effect of temperature on excystation, when oocysts were placed in water baths at the appropriate temperature (32-44 °C) and the effect of pH, when oocysts were exposed to solutions of different pH (2-7), was investi-gated. Cell separation was then performed using a flow cytometer and the values obtained were recorded in the tables. The most oocysts excysted at 40 °C and pH 7. An autopsy of infected mice was also performed to determine the infectivity of oo-cysts from various parts of the digestive system. All taken oocyst samples were infectious for the subsequent host. Infection experiments, which were further car-ried out revealed, that unexcysted oocysts exposed to hypochlorite and laboratory temperatures retain their ability to infect. In contrast, the oocyst sporozoites that excysted were susceptible to both hypochlorite and room temperature, thus losing the ability infect the subsequent host.
|
|
|
\kur{Apodemus} vs. \kur{Eimeria}: Evolutionary factors of speciation and genomic diversification in host-parasite system
MÁCOVÁ, Anna
This thesis discusses and explains phylogenetic patterns observed in two different organisms: Eimeria, an unicellular parasite, and Apodemus, a rodent that often serves as a host for this parasitic species. The situation in rodents is intuitive, clearly reflecting their biogeographic history. Phylogenetic pattern in A. agrarius corresponds with its spread from the core locality of its distribution eastward. The lack of the genetic variability in European populations hints the recent origin of this population with the low number of founders. The phylogeny of A. flavicollis, a rodent inhabiting almost the whole Europe, reflects the situation during the last glacial maximum (i.e. speciation in several subpopulations that did not interbreed, but retained their independent nature). The situation in Eimeria is more complex. Parasites always fight in "arm races", trying to accommodate to their hosts as best they can, and to avoid their defense. This results in coevolutionary events such as cospeciation, host switches, duplications, and other events that form the genetic variability in parasites. The study of evolutionary relationships in Eimeria may be difficult due to lack or morphological and/or relevant molecular data. This thesis adds more information to this view. Several other studies were also included in this thesis to provide a broader picture of the complexity of host-parasite systems.
|
|
|
Optimization of litter size in rodents
Cingelová, Alexandra ; Dušek, Adam (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
Optimization of litter size can be defined as adjustment of litter size according to actual environmental conditions or condition of mother to reach a compromise between the maximum number of offspring and their individual fitness. Rodents are an ideal taxon to study this topic because of their enormous interspecific variability in life strategies across the whole order. The variation in litter size among rodent species was influenced by countless ecological and social factors during their evolution. These include the geographical location of the breeding populations, various life and reproductive strategies such as r-/K-strategy, the presence of altricial or precocious offspring, various ways of life, the presence of water in the environment, predation rate, hibernation, and sociality. Litter size can be adjusted already before fertilization, for example by choosing a partner, by timing reproduction, condition, age and social status of the mother. Genetic factors affecting litter size are, for example, MHC glycoprotein polymorphism and t-haplotype. Reduction of the litter size may occur before insemination by influencing the ovulation rate, female reproductive hormone levels and exposure to the stressors, during implantation by selective abortion, and postpartum by infanticide, siblicide, and...
|
guest ::
