Superovulation in cattle: A combined treatment using syncromate B with either pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin or follicle stimulating hormone

A comparison between different superovulatory treatments in dairy cattle was carried out at a commercial embryo transfer unit in Israel. Both pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) were used, either alone or combined with Syncromate B (SMB). The use of PMSG + SMB significantly decreased the number of corpora lutea present at the time of embryo collection 7 d after insemination, as compared with other treatment regimens. Consequently, a significantly lower number of ova was found in those animals treated with PMSG + SMB. Better superovulatory responses were obtained when FSH, rather than PMSG, was used, regardless of whether they were administered alone or combined with SMB. It was clear that the use of SMB combined either with PMSG or FSH resulted in poorer responses than when either gonadotrophin was used alone.     

Ultrastructural features of gametogenesis during the life cycle in Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard (Oligochaeta,Tubificidae)

An ultrastructural analysis of the gametogenetic phases in Branchiura sowerbyi, a tubificid oligochaete, has been accomplished. These phases mostly conform to the usual pattern for the family, however, some interesting peculiarities are pointed out. The regression of sexual apparatus after reproductive period and its regeneration up to a new period of sexual maturity, has been followed throughout the year.     

Effects of sulphuric acid exposure on the behaviour of largemouth bass,Micropterus salmoides

Synopsis Young-of-the-year largemouth bass,Micropterus salmoides, were exposed to four concentrations of sulphuric acid (pH levels 7.2, 6.1, 4.8, and 3.7) for 30 days, and the frequencies of feeding acts and activity bouts, and time budgets were recorded. Juveniles at pH 6.1 and at pH 4.8 performed the two feeding acts, bites and orientations, more often, and spent more time feeding than bass at pH 7.2. Bass at pH 3.7, however, reduced feeding, and spent a significantly larger portion of their time hovering in the water column. Frequencies of comfort and agonistic acts increased with a decline in pH. Alterations of behavioural repertoires of young-of-the-year largemouth bass were useful indicators of sulphuric acid exposure.     

The Putative Oncogene Pim-1 in the Mouse: Its Linkage and Variation among t Haplotypes

Pim-1, a putative oncogene involved in T-cell lymphomagenesis, was mapped between the pseudo-alpha globin gene Hba-4ps and the alpha-crystallin gene Crya-1 on mouse chromosome 17 and therefore within the t complex. Pim-1 restriction fragment variants were identified among t haplotypes. Analysis of restriction fragment sizes obtained with 12 endonucleases demonstrated that the Pim-1 genes in some t haplotypes were indistinguishable from the sizes for the Pim-1b allele in BALB/c inbred mice. There are now three genes, Pim-1, Crya-1 and H-2 I-E, that vary among independently derived t haplotypes and that have indistinguishable alleles in t haplotypes and inbred strains. These genes are closely linked within the distal inversion of the t complex. Because it is unlikely that these variants arose independently in t haplotypes and their wild-type homologues, we propose that an exchange of chromosomal segments, probably through double crossingover, was responsible for indistinguishable Pim-1 genes shared by certain t haplotypes and their wild-type homologues. There was, however, no apparent association between variant alleles of these three genes among t haplotypes as would be expected if a single exchange introduced these alleles into t haplotypes. If these variant alleles can be shown to be identical to the wild-type allele, then lack of association suggests that multiple exchanges have occurred during the evolution of the t complex.     

A complex balanced chromosomal rearrangement in repeated abortions

Summary A double balanced reciprocal translocation involving four chromosomes, t(1;19;6;14) (1p11; 19p11; 6q25; 14q21), was found in the phenotypically normal husband in a couple referred because of repeated abortions. Reciprocal translocations, t(6;14), had been transmitted by his mother, his father being apparently homozygous for a translocation comprising pairs 1 and 19-t(1;19)(1;19). The genetic consequences of this complex chromosomal rearrangement are analyzed.     

Isolation and Characterization of Mutants of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 Deficient in Acetoacetyl-Coenzyme A:Acetate/Butyrate:Coenzyme A-Transferase (EC 2.8.3.9) and in Other Solvent Pathway Enzymes

Mutants of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 exhibiting resistance to 2-bromobutyrate or rifampin were isolated after nitrosoguanidine treatment. Mutants were screened for solvent production by using an automated alcohol test system. Isolates were analyzed for levels of butanol, ethanol, acetone, butyrate, acetate, and acetoin in stationary-phase batch cultures. The specific activities of NADH- and NADPH-dependent butanol dehydrogenase and butyraldehyde dehydrogenase as well as those of acetoacetyl-coenzyme A:acetate/butyrate:coenzyme A-transferase (butyrate-acetoacetate coenzyme A-transferase [EC 2.8.3.9]) (CoA-transferase), butyrate kinase, and phosphotransbutyrylase were measured at the onset of stationary phase. Rifampin-resistant strain D10 and 2-bromobutyrate mutant R were found to be deficient in only CoA-transferase, while several other mutants exhibited reduced butyraldehyde dehydrogenase and butanol dehydrogenase activities as well. The colony morphology of 2-bromobutyrate mutant R was similar to that of the parent on RCM medium; however, it had about 1/10 the level of CoA-transferase and increased levels of butanol dehydrogenase and butyraldehyde dehydrogenase. A nonsporulating, spontaneously derived degenerated strain exhibited reduced levels of butyraldehyde dehydrogenase, butanol, dehydrogenase, and CoA-transferase compared with those of the original strain. When C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824 was grown on medium containing low levels of 2-bromobutyrate, an altered colony morphology was observed. Not all strains resistant to 2-bromobutyrate (12 mM) were non-solvent-producing strains.     

Acute and chronic effects of an anionic surfactant on some freshwater tubificid species

We report the results of research on acute and chronic effects of linear alkylbenzensulfonate (LAS) on two tubificid species. 96 h LC₅₀ assay values were estimated at 10° for Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri and Branchiura sowerbyi exposed to different concentrations of LAS dissolved in water, both with and without sediment. The presence of sediments modified LAS toxicity and increased values: NOEC and LOEC resulted in values 2.5 times higher for Branchiura sowerbyi and 4–4.5 times for Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, when the sediments were present. The chronic effects induced by a long exposure to LAS were evaluated for different stages of the biological cycle of Branchiura sowerbyi. Using concentrations between the NOEC and LOEC (0.5, 2.5, and 5 ppm), with control, we could observe that: 1) at 5 ppm the cocoons were laid precociously compared to controls, 2) in all treated series the number of cocoons was lower than in controls, 3) the mean number of oocytes per cocoon was lower for the worms submitted to LAS, compared to the control, 4) the period of embryonic development was similar for all used concentrations and for control, and 5) the number of degenerated cocoons was unchanged by the LAS treatment.     

Prenatal diagnosis of familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy: evidence for an early expression of the associated transthyretin methionine 30

Summary Transthyretin methionine 30 (TTR Met 30), which is associated with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy, originates in a single base substitution (A for G) in the second exon of the TTR gene. This autosomal dominant disease can be diagnosed by RFLP analysis of NsiI-digested DNA. The amplification of DNA by PCR improves the diagnosis method, making it suitable for prenatal diagnosis. Using PCR-amplified DNA, prenatal diagnosis of two at-risk fetuses was performed. Control Met 30 and normal DNA (either genomic or produced by site directed mutagenesis) were processed in parallel. The diagnosis was made by hybridization with allele-specific oligonucleotide probes, and later confirmed by screening of the mutant protein in the amniotic fluid and, when possible, in the sera from the newborns. TTR Met 30 was detected in the amniotic fluid of a positive fetus whose father was the carrier of the mutation. This indicates that the mutant protein is expressed very early in development.