Ectopic otoconial formation in the lagena of the pigeon inner ear.
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Publication Date
2018-08-02Journal Title
Biol Open
ISSN
2046-6390
Publisher
The Company of Biologists
Volume
7
Issue
8
Language
eng
Type
Article
Physical Medium
Electronic
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Malkemper, E. P., Mason, M. J., Kagerbauer, D., Nimpf, S., & Keays, D. A. (2018). Ectopic otoconial formation in the lagena of the pigeon inner ear.. Biol Open, 7 (8) https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.034462
Abstract
The vertebrate inner ear contains vestibular receptors with dense crystals of calcium carbonate, the otoconia. The production and maintenance of otoconia is a delicate process, the perturbation of which can lead to severe vestibular dysfunction in humans. The details of these processes are not well understood. Here, we report the discovery of a new otoconial mass in the lagena of adult pigeons that was present in more than 70% of birds. Based on histological, tomographic and elemental analyses, we conclude that the structure likely represents an ectopically-formed otoconial assembly. Given its frequent natural occurrence, we suggest that the pigeon lagena is a valuable model system for investigating misregulated otoconial formation.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Keywords
Avian lagena, Dark cells, Inner ear, Magnetoreception, Otolith, Tegmentum vasculosum, Vestibular organs
Sponsorship
European Research Council [336725 to D.A.K.]; Austrian Science Fund [Y726 to D.A.K.]; Diamond Light Source [project no. MT16522]
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.034462
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/284529
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