Advisor: Mihaela Pavlicev

PhD Defensio - Friday, March 21st 2025, 17:00
Lecture Hall 2, UBB, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna   

Abstract

My thesis examines the comparative aspects of female reproductive biology in mammals and the origins of pregnancy-specific signaling. I focus on the evolution of three critical reproductive phases: the luteal phase of the ovarian cycle, implantation, and the final establishment of a fetal-maternal interface. In my thesis, I identify the signaling milestones vital to the evolution of eutherian pregnancy, from signals for maternal recognition of pregnancy to the cell-cell communication between maternal and trophoblast cells in a phylogenetic context. First, I analyze the evolutionary connection between reproductive and non-reproductive cycles in vertebrates, focusing on the evolution of longer gestation lengths in mammals. Then I present two comparative single-cell gene expression studies. Once is a study of the cell type inventory and communication dynamics of the utero-placenta interface of two rodents with different pregnancy types, mouse and guinea pig, in contrast with the opossum, a primarily non-invasive species, and the tenrec, a basally branching eutherian. The other is a comparison of single-cell gene expression of the mouse and guinea pig with the opossum at the time of initial embryo attachment. Lastly, I explore the history and evolutionary theories of the female orgasm and its relevance to the concept of homology in comparative biology. Together, my thesis explores the continuities and discontinuities in the evolution of signaling across major innovations in mammalian female reproductive biology.