Calcium signaling in cells directs diverse physiological processes. The calcium waves triggered by fertilization is a highly conserved calcium signaling event essential for egg activation, and has been documented in every egg tested. This activity is one of the few highly conserved events of egg activation through the course of evolution. Echinoderm eggs, as well as many other cell types, have ...

Egg whites can undergo gelation at extreme pH. In this paper, the effects of NaOH concentration (1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3%), temperature (10, 20, 30, and 40°C), and additives (metallic compounds, carbohydrates, stabilizers, and coagulants) on the strength of alkaline-induced egg white gel were investigated. Results showed that NaOH concentration and induced temperature significantly affected the rate...

Variations in egg size and composition can have important consequences for the quality of offspring. We investigated the effect of temperature, in the 5 days preceding laying, on yolk, albumen, shell and total egg mass. Moreover, we examined the influence of temperature on three important egg components, i.e. the yolk carotenoids and the albumen lysozyme and avidin. In our experimental conditio...

Egg mass shows large intraspecific variation in birds and yet the mechanisms underlying this variation remain unknown. We hypothesized that estradiol would play a central role in determining egg mass, since this hormone stimulates the production of yolk precursors (vitellogenin and very-low density lipoprotein, VLDL) by the liver, and of albumen by the oviduct. We gave European starlings (Sturn...

When Bacillus anthracis is grown in egg yolk medium, a reaction occurs which is presumably due to lecithinase (Colmer, 1948; McGaughey and Chu, 1948; Chu, 1949). In liquid egg yolk medium the lecithinase reaction is characterized by the formation of an opalescent suspension and flocculation of particles which rise to the top of the medium as a curd. A test such as this is usually referred to as...

Phenotypic plasticity and phenotypic stability are major components of the adaptive evolution of organisms to environmental variation. The invariant two-egg clutch size of Eudyptes penguins has recently been proposed to be a unique example of a maladaptive phenotypic stability, while their egg mass is a plastic trait. We tested whether this phenotypic plasticity during reproduction might result...

Recently, many avian antimicrobial peptides have been predicted by bioinformatics and identified by proteomics. These compounds are generally small cationic molecules that possess activities against protozoans, fungi and viruses, as well as gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. They are components of innate immunity and are capable of evading pathogen resistance mechanisms. Hens export prot...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the possible anti-inflammatory effect of garden egg [Solanum aethiopicum (S. aethiopicum)] using experimentally induced inflammatory models in rats. METHODS Oedema was induced on the rat hind paw by the injection of 0.1 mL undiluted fresh egg albumin (philogistic agent) into the subplantar surface of the rat paw. Tissue granuloma was induced in the rats by the implantati...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Extensive research has not clearly established a link between egg consumption and risk for coronary heart disease. The effects of egg intake on plasma lipids and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) atherogenicity in healthy populations need to be addressed. RECENT FINDINGS The lack of connection between heart disease and egg intake could partially be explained by the fact that die...