Comparison of histoenzymological alterations in the contralateral ovary of nulliparous and parous females of the bat Taphozous melanopogon melanopogon Temmnick (Microchiroptera, Mammalia) displaying absolute dextral dominance of the genital tract

Taphozous melanopogon melanopogon is a unique emballonurid microchiropteran which exhibits a 100% dextral dominance of the female genital tract. Folliculogenesis occurs in the contralateral ovaries, but it is only in the right ovary that a single Graafian follicle attains maturity and ovulates. The product of fertilization is implanted in the dextral uterine cornu. Seven types of follicles were identified in the right ovary, as compared with five in the left, on the basis of shape, size and number of associated granulosa cells. In the parous bats, a single, nearly extroverted corpus luteum was discerned in the ovary which survived for 2-2 1/2 months. The left ovary was nearly a vestigial structure during pregnancy. The structural asymmetry of the internal genitalia was observed to be correlated with the histochemical site and pattern of distribution of acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase. Differential activities of phosphatases were discerned in the developing primary, secondary, preantral and antral follicles and the interstitial tissues of the contralateral ovary during the nulliparous state. A high enzyme reaction was displayed by follicles undergoing atretic and degenerative changes. In the parous bats, pronounced differences were noted in the histologic constituents of the contralateral ovary. This study shows a significant link between functional asymmetry of the genitalia and the structural and enzymological characteristics of the ovarian tissues.