title

Analysis of haematological indicators in rodents of the superfamily Muroidea from natural populations of Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine

author(s)

Alla Lypska (orcid: 0000-0001-6858-2201)
Natalia Rodionova (orcid: 0009-0003-0616-2406)
Natalia Riabchenko (orcid: 0000-0003-1771-8484)

affiliation

Institute for Nuclear Research, NAS of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine)

bibliography

Theriologia Ukrainica. 2026. Vol. 31: 157–165.

DOI

language

English, with Ukrainian summary, titles of tables, captures to figs

abstract

Haematological parameters were assessed in three Myomorpha species belonging to the genera Myodes, Sylvaemus, and Apodemus, which are widely distributed in forest biotopes of Kyiv Oblast and are traditionally used as bioindicators in environmental monitoring, particularly in radioecological and radiobiological studies within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Animals used in the study were sexually immature, aged two to three months and captured within the territory of the Chernechyi Lis National Park (Kyiv Oblast). The state of the haematopoietic system reflects the nature, intensity, and duration of exposure to stress factors, making haematological parameters among the most informative biomarkers of physiological status at both individual and population levels. This study presents quantitative and qualitative characteristics of peripheral blood and bone marrow in M. glareolus, S. tauricus, and A. agrarius. Species-specific features of leukocyte profiles, myelograms, and bone marrow cell maturation indices were identified. Red blood parameters showed no statistically significant interspecific differences, whereas leukogram and granulopoiesis data differed markedly among species. In leucograms of three species, a lymphocytic profile predominated (60–80%), consistent with the physiological norm for small rodents. Based on leukocyte counts in peripheral blood, the species can be ranked as follows: M. glareolus > S. tauricus > A. agrarius. The leukograms were characterised by a predominance of mature (segmented) neutrophils, particularly in S. tauricus, where their counts exceeded that of band neutrophils by 4.4-fold. In the bone marrow of M. glareolus and S. tauricus, similar distributions of granulocytic and erythroid lineages were observed, in contrast to A. agrarius. Notably, the myelogram of M. glareolus showed a relative predominance of immature neutrophils (neutrophil maturation index > 1), indicating species-specific features of granulopoiesis. The obtained data can serve as a basis for establishing reference haematological values for three murine rodent species of Kyiv Oblast. The results confirm that the formation of species- and population-specific control groups, considering age, sex, seasonality, and geographic origin, is a necessary methodological prerequisite for the correct interpretation of bioindicator species data in ecological monitoring programmes.

keywords

mouse-like rodents, peripheral blood, bone marrow, myelogram, reference values

references

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