Malkemper EP, Mason MJ, Kagerbauer D, Nimpf S, Keays DA. Ectopic otoconial formation in the lagena of the pigeon inner ear.
Biol Open 2018;
7:bio034462. [PMID:
29997242 PMCID:
PMC6124575 DOI:
10.1242/bio.034462]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
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.
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