This study presents the first definitive anatomical description of the tongue and lingual papillae of the cattleyak. Data on tongues from 12 healthy cattle-yaks were collected. The results show that five types of papillae were identifiable on the tongue surface of the cattle-yak. Among these, three types were mechanical papillae （filiform, conical, and lenticular）, and two types were gustatory papillae （vallate and fungiform）. Some morphological features of the cattle-yak tongue were similar to those of domestic ruminants, but the lingual prominence was higher and more developed. For example, more mechanical papillae were present and they were covered by a thicker, keratinized epithelium, the conical papillae possibly perform an immune function, the fungiform papillae have more mucus- secreting pores, and the sublingual glands were more developed. This research will provide a further and detailed source of morphological information about the cattle-yak that is currently lacking in species-specific studies on the morphology of the Bovidae family.
为了研究高原动物对青藏高原高寒、低氧等极端生境的适应机理,进一步探讨高原动物对高原反应——高原脑水肿抗性的分子机理,运用基因克隆与生物信息学相关技术和方法,对牦牛脑AQP4(水通道蛋白4,AQP4)基因CDS全长序列进行克隆、基因序列比对及其生物信息学特征分析。结果表明,牦牛AQP4的CDS含有一个966 bp的开放阅读框,编码322个氨基酸;牦牛AQP4基因编码蛋白分子量34.69 k D,理论等电点(p I)7.59,其编码蛋白含有6次跨膜结构,属于疏水性蛋白;二级结构主要由α-螺旋、延伸及无规则卷曲构成;AQP4基因编码产物氨基酸同源性及系统进化分析发现,牦牛AQP4基因编码氨基酸序列与黄牛、绵羊等物种间同源性较高,系统进化情况与其亲缘关系远近一致。
为了探讨黄牛对高原脑水肿的易感性,并为青藏高原养牛业提供参考,运用免疫组织化学SABC染色法并采用Image-Pro Plus 6.0软件,对成年黄牛大脑不同功能区水通道蛋白4(AQP4)的表达及分布特征进行了研究。结果显示,黄牛不同功能区脑组织中AQP4表达面积(S)和积分光密度(IOD)值的大小顺序为S扣带回>S中央前回>S丘脑>S尾状核,IOD扣带回>IOD中央前回>IOD丘脑>IOD尾状核,且扣带回和中央前回的S和IOD值均显著高于丘脑和尾状核(P<0.01)。结果证实,成年黄牛脑不同功能区、同功能区不同层及同功能区同层不同类型细胞对水的通透性及代谢功能存在较大差异,对脑水肿的易感性是不同的。
