Birth of a marmoset following injection of elongated spermatid from a prepubertal male

The common marmoset is a small nonhuman primate in which the application of transgenesis and genetic knockout techniques allows the generation of gene‐modified models of human diseases. However, its longer generation time than that of rodents is a major obstacle to the widespread use of gene‐modified marmosets for biomedical research. In this study, we examined the feasibility of shortening the generation time by using prepubertal marmoset males as gamete donors. We collected late round stage spermatids (Steps 5–7), elongated spermatids, and testicular spermatozoa from the testis of a prepubertal 11‐month‐old male marmoset and injected them into in vitro‐matured oocytes. After 7 days in culture, two embryos from elongated spermatid injection and two embryos from sperm injection were transferred into two separate recipient females. The recipient female that received elongated spermatid injection‐derived embryos became pregnant and gave birth to one female infant. This is the first demonstration that a spermatid from a prepubertal male primate can support full‐term development. Using this method, we can expect to obtain offspring of gene‐modified males 6 months to a year earlier than with natural mating     

生物有机肥对盐碱地水稻叶片的影响转录组分析

改良修复盐碱地对保障粮食安全和守护耕地红线具有重要意义,种植水稻配施生物有机肥是修复改良盐碱地的一项有效措施。基于生物有机肥肥料效应,测定水稻灌浆期农艺性状,开展叶片转录组测序,通过基因本体(GO)和京都基因与基因组百科全书(KEGG)数据库分析差异基因的生物学功能和代谢通路,以期揭示生物有机肥对盐碱地水稻的潜在促生机制。试验共设置4个处理,生物有机肥+化肥(T1)、生物有机肥灭活+化肥(T2)、化肥(T3)和空白对照(T4),结果表明,施用生物有机肥能够显著提高水稻叶面积和叶绿素、植株分蘖数和干物质量(P<0.05);T2vsT1、T3vsT1、T4vsT1、T4vsT3差异基因数量分别为6593、4796、6976和1866条,生物有机肥配施化肥引起差异基因表达数量最高,其次为灭活生物有机肥,单施化肥最小;GO分析显示,生物有机肥主要影响水稻叶片肽和酰胺的生物合成与代谢、翻译过程、细胞器及细胞器膜等,化肥对水稻叶片生物学过程影响的差异基因无显著富集(P>0.05);KEGG分析表明,施用生物有机肥差异显著基因主要富集在核糖体和能量代谢相关途径,核糖体相关基因差异表达较多...     

基因表达谱分析牛早期胚胎发育过程的调控机理

早期胚胎的死亡会给畜牧业的发展带来巨大的经济损失, 特别是对于母牛生产来说更是如此, 因此研究早期胚胎发育过程具有极为重要的价值。文章从公共数据库GEO中选取了关于牛早期胚胎发育过程的一套基因表达谱数据, 通过显著性分析及聚类分析来研究牛早期胚胎发育过程中不同时期的基因组表达模式。结果表明: 整个牛早期胚胎发育过程大致可划分为3组不同的基因组表达模式阶段; 同时, 差显基因在不同时期表达量的波动情况表明8-细胞期和16-细胞期在牛的整个早期胚胎发育过程的重要性。另外, 通过进一步的功能注释和通路分析表明在牛胚胎早期发育不同阶段时期存在着一些重要因子及相关通路。     

The release of elongated, sheathed ascospores from bottle-shaped asci in Dipodascus geniculatus

Yeasts use different mechanisms to release ascospores of different lengths from bottle-shaped asci. Round to oval-shaped ascospores are enveloped in oxylipin-coated compressible sheaths, enabling ascospores to slide past each other when they reach the narrowing ascus neck. However, more elongated ascospores do not contain sheaths, but are linked by means of oxylipin-coated interlocked hooked ridges on the surfaces of neighboring ascospores, thereby keeping them aligned while they are pushed towards the ascus tip by turgor pressure. In this study, we found elongated, oxylipin-coated sheathed ascospores in Dipodascus geniculatus that are released effectively from bottle-shaped asci without alignment. This is possible because the ascus neck and opening have a diameter that is the same as the length of the ascospore, thus allowing the ascospores to turn sideways without blocking the ascus when they are released. We found that increased concentrations of acetylsalicylic acid inhibit both ascospore release and 3-hydroxy oxylipin production in this yeast, thereby implicating this oxylipin in sexual reproduction.     

Differential proteomic analysis of bovine conceptus fluid proteins in pregnancies generated by assisted reproductive technologies

Proteomic analysis of bovine conceptus fluid proteins during early pregnancy has the potential to expose protein species indicative of both the overall health of the fetal-maternal environment and fetal developmental status. In this study, we examined the differential abundance of bovine conceptus fluid proteins (5-50 kDa fraction) from naturally conceived, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)-derived pregnancies at days 45 and 90 of gestation. In day 45 allantoic fluid (AllF) samples, an atypical cluster of low molecular weight ( approximately 14-16 kDa), low pI (between 3.0 and 4.5 pH units) protein species was increased in three of four IVF samples (30-100-fold increase in protein spot volumes compared to normal). These proteins were identified as paralogs of the bovine cathelicidin antimicrobial protein (CAMP) by MALDI-TOF MS peptide mass fingerprint and MALDI-TOF MS/MS peptide sequence analysis. Peptidoglycan recognition protein and serine (or cysteine) proteinase inhibitor clade B1, were also significantly increased in the corresponding IVF samples. In two of four SCNT AllF samples, a 2-10-fold increase in CAMP protein spot volumes were detected. No aberrant abundance levels of individual protein species were observed in amniotic fluid samples, or in day 90 IVF AllF samples. Identification of unique protein species present in the normal bovine AllF proteome at day 45 is also reported.     

Caffeine treatment of ovine cytoplasts regulates gene expression and foetal development of embryos produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer

Treatment of ovine oocytes during the latter stages of maturation in vitro with caffeine, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, can increase the activities of maturation promoting factor and mitogen‐activated protein kinases at metaphase II. When used as cytoplast recipients for somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT), caffeine‐treated oocytes produced blastocysts with increased cell numbers. The objectives of these studies were to determine the effects of caffeine treatment on the expression profile of genes involved in early embryonic development and whether induction or maintenance of pregnancy was subsequently altered. No differences in overall expression patterns were observed between fertilised, caffeine‐treated fertilised and parthenogenetic embryos. In control NT embryos, altered levels of gene expression were found for OCT4, five genes regulated by OCT4 (H2AF.Z, NANOG, SOX2, FGF4 and INFT) and the heat‐shock response genes (HSP27 and HSP70.1). Levels of OCT4, H2AF.Z, NANOG, HSP 27 and FGF4 decreased, while those of INFT, HSP70.1 and SOX2 increased. In contrast, expression levels of these genes in caffeine‐treated NT embryos were similar to those in fertilised controls. Following transfer to surrogate recipients no differences were observed in the frequency of pregnancy; however, ewes receiving caffeine‐treated embryos maintained pregnancies for longer periods and delivered a live lamb. Taken together, these results suggest that treatment of ovine oocytes with caffeine can affect gene expression and improve developmental competence. Further studies on the mechanisms behind this alteration of gene expression are required and will aid in understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in nuclear reprogramming. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 77:876–887, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Differential,temporal and spatial expression of genes involved in storage oil and oleosin accumulation in developing rapeseed embryos: implications for the role of oleosins and the mechanisms of oil-body formation

The temporal and spatial expression of oleosin and ₉-stearoyl-ACP desaturase genes and their products has been examined in developing embryos of rapeseed, Brassica napus L. var. Topas. Expression of oleosin and stearate desaturase genes was measured by in situ hybridisation at five different stages of development ranging from the torpedo stage to a mature-desiccating embryo. The temporal pattern of gene expression varied dramatically between the two classes of gene. Stearate desaturase gene expression was relatively high, even at the torpedo stage, whereas oleosin gene expression was barely detectable at this stage. By the stage of maximum embryo fresh weight, stearate desaturase gene expression had declined considerably while oleosin gene expression was at its height.In contrast to their differential temporal expression, the in situ labelling of both classes of embryo-specific gene showed similar, relatively uniform patterns of spatial expression throughout the embryo sections. Immunogold labelling of ultra-thin sections from radicle tissue with anti-oleosin antibodies showed similar patterns to sections from cotyledon tissue. However, whereas at least three oleosin isoforms were detectable on western blots of homogenates from cotyledons, only one isoform was found in radicles. This suggests that some of the oleosin isoforms may be expressed differentially in the various types of embryo tissue. The differential timing of stearate desaturase and oleosin gene expression was mirrored by similar differences in the timing of the accumulation of their ultimate products, i.e. storage oil and oleosin proteins. Oil-body fractions prepared from young (2.5 mg) embryos contained very little oleosin protein, as examined by SDS-PAGE and western blotting, whereas identically prepared fractions from dry seeds contained over 10% (w/w) oleosin. Dehydration of oil bodies from young embryos resulted in their breakdown and coalescence into large clumps of oil which could not be re-emulsified, even after rehydration. In contrast, the oleosin-rich oil bodies from mature embryos were stable to dehydration and subsequent rehydration. It is suggested that, in developing rapeseed embryos, the accumulation of storage oil and oleosins is not concomitant but that the eventual deposition of oleosins onto the surfaces of storage oil bodies is essential for their stability during seed desiccation.Abbreviations ABA abscisic acid - ACP acyl carrier protein - GLC gas-liquid chromatography - PBS phosphate-buffered saline     

Normal calves from transfer of biopsied, sexed and vitrified IVP bovine embryos

Data on biopsied, sexed and cryopreserved in vitro produced (IVP) bovine embryos, and their in vivo developmental competence are very limited. Two preliminary studies were conducted before the primary study. In Experiment 1, post-thaw in vitro developmental competence of biopsied and vitrified IVP embryos was evaluated using re-expansion as an endpoint. In Experiment 2, the pregnancy rates of biopsied fresh, frozen or vitrified embryos following single embryo transfer were compared. Since vitrified embryos resulted in a higher pregnancy rate than frozen-thawed embryos, in the primary study (Experiment 3), all IVP embryos were vitrified following biopsy and sexing (by DNA fingerprinting). In Experiment 3, we compared pregnancy initiation and calving results of heifers in the following treatments: 1) artificial insemination (AI); 2) AI plus contralateral transfer of a single embryo (AI + SET); 3) ipsilateral transfer of single embryo (SET); or 4) bilateral transfer of two embryos (DET). Birth weights, gestation lengths and dystocia scores were recorded. In Experiment 1, post-thaw re-expansion rate of biopsied and vitrified embryos was 85% (70/82). In Experiment 2, pregnancy rates (90 d) were 44% (7/16), 23% (3/13), and 50% (7/14) for vitrified, frozen and fresh embryos, respectively (P < 0.10). In Experiment 3, pregnancy rates of AI and SET were 65% (20/31) and 40% (16/40), respectively (P < 0.05). The pregnancy rate of AI + SET was 75% (27/36) with 11 carrying twins, and the pregnancy rate of DET was 72% (26/36) with 10 carrying twins. All AI fetuses were carried to term, but only half the SET fetuses were carried to term. Similar calving rates were observed in the AI + SET and DET groups, 76 and 70%, respectively, of those pregnant at Day 40. Mean birth weight, dystocia score and gestation length of AI calves were not different from those of SET calves. Mean birth weight and dystocia score of single-born calves were greater than those of twin born calves (P < 0.05). These data demonstrate that biopsied IVP bovine embryos can be successfully cryopreserved by vitrification and following post-thaw embryo transfer, acceptable rates of offspring with normal birth weights can be obtained without major calving difficulties.     

兔移核重构胚再程序化相关基因片段的分离与鉴定

用单个植入前胚胎mRNA差别显示方法（Single Preimplantation Embryonic mRNA Differential Display Reverse Polymerase Reaction,SPEDDRTPCR）,以家兔移核重构发育至2细胞、8细胞时期的胚胎及囊胚作为起始材料。研究家兔移核重构胚再程序化相关基因的表达。获得了25个与再程序化相关的基因片段,完成了对所有片段的克隆、序列分析,其中5个反向Northern证实的片段在从MⅡ到囊胚的发育阶段中呈现特异性表达的特点。这项研究为再程序化相关基因全长的分离以及功能研究奠定了良好的基础。