GRAFTS OF OVARIES IN MALES AND FEMALES OF PLEURODELES WALTL (URODELE AMPHIBIA) - EVIDENCE OF A LONG-TERM TOLERANCE OF ALLOGRAFTS - APPLICATION FOLLOWING A SPACE BIOLOGY EXPERIMENT

Ovary grafts were investigated in the salamander Pleurodeles using juv eniles and adults as donors and hosts. Ovaries were provided by standa rd cr histo-compatible strains and by standard females which had been submitted to a space flight. Laparotomy of the hosts was used to contr ol viability of grafts. Entire juvenile ovaries transplanted into cast rated juvenile females or males were tolerated and developed. Ovarian parts of adult females, which contained a majority of oogonies, could also be tolerated by juvenile animals. In addition, ovarian parts supp orted a better recovery and differentiation than parts that mainly inc luded mature oocytes. About 24 months after the ovary grafts, some hos ts (genetical females or males and standard or spatialized females) cr ossed with standard males provided progenies originating from oocytes of the grafted ovaries. The protocols applied offer a new range of pot entialities, adapted to various experimental purposes such as life sci ence research in space or sex differentiation studies.