Journal article
Ultrasonography of wallaby prenatal development shows that the climb to the pouch begins in utero
B Drews, K Roellig, BR Menzies, G Shaw, I Buentjen, CA Herbert, TB Hildebrandt, MB Renfree
Scientific Reports | Published : 2013
DOI: 10.1038/srep01458
Abstract
Marsupials have a functional placenta for a shorter period of time compared to that of eutherian species, and their altricial young reach the teats without any help from the mother. We have monitored the short intrauterine development of one marsupial, the tammar wallaby, with high-resolution ultrasound from reactivation of the 100-cell diapausing blastocyst to birth. The expanding blastocyst could be visualized when it had reached a diameter of 1.5 mm. From at least halfway through pregnancy, there are strong undulating movements of the endometrium that massage the expanding vesicle against the highly secretory endometrial surface. These unique movements possibly enhance exchange of uterine..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The authors thank all members of the Wallaby Research Group for assistance and in particular Scott Brownlees, University of Melbourne and Frank Goeritz, Leibniz Institute for Zoo- and Wildlife Research. Larry Vogelnest, Taronga Zoo, facilitated a pilot trial of the ultrasonography at the University of Sydney with TBH and CAH. This study was supported by grants from the Australian Research Council to MBR and GS, the Pakt for Innovation and Forschung 2008 granted by the Leibniz Foundation to BD and an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellowship to BRM. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.