Discrimination between two chromatic colors in sika deer

The hair follicle dermal papilla is critical for hair generation and de novo regeneration. When cultured in vitro, dermal papilla cells from different species demonstrate two distinguishable growth patterns under the conventional culture condition: a self-aggregative three dimensional spheroidal (3D) cell pattern and a two dimensional (2D) monolayer cell pattern, correlating with different hair inducing properties. Whether the loss of self-aggregative behavior relates to species-specific differences or the improper culture condition remains unclear. Can the fixed 2D patterned dermal papilla cells recover the self-aggregative behavior and 3D pattern also remains undetected. Here, we successfully constructed the two growth patterns using sika deer (Cervus nippon) dermal papilla cells and proved it was the culture condition that determined the dermal papilla growth pattern. The two growth patterns could transit mutually as the culture condition was exchanged. The fixed 2D patterned sika deer dermal papilla cells could recover the self-aggregative behavior and transit back to 3D pattern, accompanied by the restoration of hair inducing capability when the culture condition was changed. In addition, the global gene expressions during the transition from 2D pattern to 3D pattern were compared to detect the potential regulating genes and pathways involved in the recovery of 3D pattern and hair inducing capability.

Download Full-text

Habitat use and the coexistence of the sika deer and the Japanese serow, sympatric ungulates from Mt. Asama, central Japan

Mammalia ◽

10.1515/mammalia-2019-0150 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 84 (6) ◽

pp. 503-511

Author(s):

Hayato Takada ◽

Riki Ohuchi ◽

Haruko Watanabe ◽

Risako Yano ◽

Risako Miyaoka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Sika Deer ◽

Cervus Nippon ◽

Niche Differentiation ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Dwarf Bamboo ◽

Central Japan ◽

Habitat Mosaic ◽

The Japanese Archipelago ◽

Japanese Serow

AbstractDifferential resource use allows for diverse species to specialize in ecological niches and thus coexist in a particular area. In the Japanese archipelago, increasing sika deer (Cervus nippon, Temminck 1836) densities have excluded the Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus, Temminck 1836), but in places where deer population densities are low, the two species coexist. We wanted to better understand their habitats and how these two ungulates manage to coexist. We evaluated the role of habitat use in the coexistence of these two sympatric ungulates on Mt. Asama, central Japan. Deer frequently used the dwarf bamboo-rich communities in autumn and winter, and their habitat use was not associated with topography. Serows frequently used deciduous broadleaf shrub-rich communities and steep slopes throughout the year. Consequently, their habitat use was significantly different in terms of vegetation and topography. Niche breadth suggests that deer tend to be generalists, whereas serows tend to be specialists. Niche differentiation in habitat use between deer and serows may make the coexistence of these similarly sized ungulates possible in Japanese mountainous zones. Therefore, the fine-grained habitat mosaic of different vegetation and topography areas might be the underlying feature that allows the coexistence of these two species.

Download Full-text

A Microsatellite Genotyping-Based Genetic Study of Interspecific Hybridization between the Red and Sika Deer in the Western Czech Republic

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11061701 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1701

Author(s):

Lenka Štohlová Putnová ◽

Radek Štohl ◽

Martin Ernst ◽

Kateřina Svobodová

Keyword(s):

Red Deer ◽

Sika Deer ◽

Molecular Genetic ◽

Allelic Diversity ◽

Molecular Genetic Analysis ◽

Genetic Introgression ◽

Statistical Framework ◽

Western Bohemia ◽

The Mean ◽

Species Hybrids

Although inter-species hybrids between the red and sika deer can be phenotypically determined only exceptionally, there is the eventuality of identification via molecular genetic analysis. We used bi-parentally inherited microsatellite markers and a Bayesian statistical framework to re-examine the proportion of hybrids in the Czech red and sika deer populations. In total, 123 samples were collected, and the nuclear dataset consisted of 2668 allelic values. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 10 (BM1818) to 22 (BM888 and T193), yielding the mean of 16 alleles per locus across the deer. The mean allelic diversity of the red deer markedly exceeded that of the Japanese sika deer. Interspecific hybrids were detected, enabling us to confirm the genetic introgression of the sika deer into the red deer populations and vice versa in western Bohemia. The mean hybrid score equaled 10.6%, with 14.3% of the hybrids being among red deer–like individuals and 6.7% among sika-like ones. At two western Bohemian locations, namely, Doupovské hory and Slavkovský les, the total percentages of hybrid animals equaled 18.8 and 8.9, respectively. No red deer alleles were detected in the sika populations of the subregions of Kladská, Žlutice, and Lány. The NeighborNet network clearly separated the seven red and sika deer sampling populations according to the geography. The knowledge gained from the evaluated data is applicable in hunting management to reduce hybridization with the European deer.

Download Full-text