Precocial rodents as new experimental model to study the effects of altered gravitational conditions on fetal development

Abstract

So far the experiments in altered gravitational conditions on the prenatal development have used altricial rodent species. The aim of this study is to explore the differences in the intrauterine development of locomotor system in precocial (guinea pig, spiny mouse) and altricial (rat, mouse, and golden hamster) rodent species and to determine which of these mammalian groups represent a better study model to conduct research on the influence of altered gravitational conditions on human fetal development. Findings suggest that the influence of altered gravitational conditions on development of locomotor system significantly vary according to the maturity of mammals. By the characteristics of maturity at birth precocial rodents are more similar to a human than altricial species. Since precocial species have similar maturity of locomotor system to human, the changes caused by altered gravity among them should be similar as opposed to altricial species.