Pedro Luiz Mailho-Fontana

Pedro Luiz Mailho-Fontana
Instituto Butantan | butanan · Laboratório de Biologia Celular

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29
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Introduction

Publications

Publications (29)
Article
Among vertebrates, the yolk is commonly the only form of nutritional investment offered by the female to the embryo. Some species, however, have developed parental care behaviors associated with specialized food provisioning essential for offspring survival, such as the production of lipidic-rich parental milk in mammals. Here, we show that females...
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Capturing data on the life of fossorial vertebrates is difficult since access to the subterranean environment is made unfeasible by its density and opacity. Collecting specimens is only possible through excavation work, causing damage or even death to the specimens. Due to the obstacles of in situ studies, the scarce information comes from reports...
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We describe a gland in the arthrodial membrane of the coxa-trochanter articulation in the fourth pair of legs in the Neotropical harvester Mischonyx squalidus Bertkau, 1880. Externally the glandular area has a rough appearance with pores on its surface, with folds of the arthrodial membrane. Internally, its secretory cells have spherical secretory...
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Despite the common poison and mucous glands, some amphibian groups have differentiated glands associated with reproduction and usually present on the male ventral surface. Known as breeding glands or sexually dimorphic skin glands (SDSGs), they are related to intraspecific chemical communication during mating. Until recently, reproduction associate...
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Citation: Mauricio, B.; Mailho-Fontana, P.L.; Sato, L.A.; Barbosa, F.F.; Astray, R.M.; Kupfer, A.; Brodie, E.D.J.; Jared, C.; Antoniazzi, M.M. Morphology of the Cutaneous Poison and Mucous Glands in Amphibians with Particular Emphasis on Caecilians (Siphonops annulatus). Toxins 2021, 13, 779. https:// Abstract: Caecilians (order Gymnophiona) are ap...
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Toads are considered poisonous animals since they have a passive mode of defence relying on cutaneous poison glands, differently from venomous animals who can inject venom in predators/aggressors or prey. Toads of Rhinella marina group are generally large and have a broad distribution in South America, inhabiting a wide range of environments. In th...
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We discuss the use of the terms venom and poison, in the context of integrative biology, with particular emphasis on behaviour and natural history. Our purpose is to reach a broad scientific audience, especially that dedicated to zoology. The meaning of the two terms is reviewed from the secretory perspective, mainly focussed on the reptiles and am...
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Amphibians are known for their skin rich in glands containing toxins employed in passive chemical defense against predators, different from, for example, snakes that have active chemical defense, injecting their venom into the prey. Caecilians (Amphibia, Gymnophiona) are snake-shaped animals with fossorial habits, considered one of the least known...
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Amphibian cutaneous glands secrete toxins used in different vital functions including passive defense. Through Desorption Electrospray Ionization-Imaging we analyzed the distribution of the major toxins of the toad Rhinella marina parotoid macroglands. Alkaloids and steroids showed characteristic distribution and intensity within the glands and wer...
Article
In recent years, SE Brazil, the most populous region in the country with an estimated population of 88 million, has been experiencing an alarming increase in scorpions accidents (scorpionism), mainly caused by the yellow scorpion (Tityus serrulatus), or "escorpião amarelo" in Portuguese. This species is considered particularly dangerous to humans a...
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Tetrodotoxin (TTX), one of the most toxic substances in nature, is present in bacteria, invertebrates, fishes, and amphibians. Marine organisms seem to bioaccumulate TTX from their food or acquire it from symbiotic bacteria, but its origin in amphibians is unclear. Taricha granulosa can exhibit high TTX levels, presumably concentrated in skin poiso...
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Nature Highlights - Hardy Brazilian frogs dig deep to escape drought.
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The semi‐arid region (Caatinga), that corresponds to 18.26% (1,540,000 km²) of Brazil, occupies most the northeast region. Rainfall is irregular and concentrated within the first 3 months of the year. Prolonged periods of drought, with low total rainfall, may extend for two or more years. Most of the rivers of this biome are temporary, remaining to...
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Background Amphibian defence against predators and microorganisms is directly related to cutaneous glands that produce a huge number of different toxins. These glands are distributed throughout the body but can form accumulations in specific regions. When grouped in low numbers, poison glands form structures similar to warts, quite common in the do...
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https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-04257-3
Article
Due to their mainly fossorial way of life, caecilian amphibians are the least known order of terrestrial vertebrates. Here, we present new observations on the natural history and reproductive biology of the neotropical oviparous, siphonopid caecilian Siphonops annulatus from a long‐term study of this species in the field and in captivity. In the st...
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Amphibian skin is rich in mucous glands and poison glands, secreting substances important for gas exchange and playing a fundamental role in chemical defense against predators and microorganisms. In the caecilian Siphonops annulatus (Mikan, 1920) we observed a concentration of enlarged mucous glands in the head region. In the posterior region of th...
Article
Toads have a pair of glandular accumulations on each side of the dorsal region of the head known as parotoid macroglands. These macroglands consist of secretory units (granular glands), each one capped with an epithelial plug. When threatened, toads point one of the parotoids toward the aggressor, and if the aggressor squeezes the parotoid with its...
Article
Anuran integument is characterized by the presence of glands, some of which are responsible for toxin production. In some species these glands accumulate in parts of the body strategically located against predators, forming structures known as macroglands. This is the case for parotoid macroglands, on the dorsum of the head, tibial macroglands, on...
Article
Several reports are available regarding ticks parasitizing toads of the family Bufonidae. Although ticks can attach to different regions of the body, occurrence of these ectoparasites on parotoid macroglands is unfrequent when compared with other regions of body. In this study, using histology and scanning electron microscopy, we analysed a rare ca...
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Venomous animals have toxins associated with delivery mechanisms that can introduce the toxins into another animal [1]. Although most amphibian species produce or sequester noxious or toxic secretions in the granular glands of the skin to use as antipredator mechanisms [2, 3], amphibians have been considered poisonous rather than venomous because d...
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https://www.nature.com/articles/524139c
Article
Toads have a pair of parotoid macroglands behind the eyes that secrete poison used in passive defence against predators. These macroglands are composed of juxtaposed alveoli, each one bearing a syncytial gland, all connected to the exterior by ducts. When the parotoids are bitten, the poison is expelled on the predator oral mucosa in the form of je...
Article
Amphibians have many skin poison glands used in passive defense, in which the aggressor causes its own poisoning when biting prey. In some amphibians the skin glands accumulate in certain regions forming macroglands, such as the parotoids of toads. We have discovered that the toad Rhaebo guttatus is able to squirt jets of poison towards the aggress...
Article
The parotoid macroglands of toads (bufonids) and leaf frogs (hylids) are used in passive defence against predators. The parotoids release poison when the amphibian is bitten by a predator. Despite the apparent similarity, the anatomical and histological structure of these macroglands in hylids is poorly studied when compared with those of bufonids....
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INTRODUÇÃO A coleta seletiva consiste na separação de materiais recicláveis, como plásticos, vidros, papéis, metais, nas várias fontes geradoras – residências, empresas, escolas, comércio, indústrias, unidades de saúde –, tendo em vista a coleta e o encaminhamento para a reciclagem. Esses materiais representam cerca de 30 por cento da composição do...

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