Neuroanatomical investigation of the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone 1 system in the seasonally breeding Cape dune mole-rat, Bathyergus suillus

The gonadotrophin-releasing hormone 1 (GnRH1) system has been investigated immunohistochemically in Cape dune mole-rats (Bathyergus suillus), subterranean rodents that normally display severe aggression towards conspecifics. These animals breed seasonally and show a reduced mean plasma level of luteinising hormone during the non-breeding season. GnRH1-immunoreactive (ir) cell bodies and processes are found in the septal/preoptic area and the mediobasal hypothalamus; the cell bodies are found in equal measure in these two regions. Dense aggregations of GnRH1-ir fibres are present in the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis and the external zone of the median eminence. The total number of detectable GnRH1-ir cell bodies does not differ between the sexes or within the sexes between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Similarly there is no difference in the distribution of detectable GnRH1-ir cell bodies in male and female mole-rats in and out of the breeding season. Although the average size of GnRH1-ir cell bodies does not differ between the seasons in males, their size in females is significantly smaller in the non-breeding season. Whether this reduced size reflects reduced GnRH1 synthesis remains to be determined.