Three basal plant tissue culture media, namely, N6, MS, and modified Y3, were compared to optimize micropropagation protocol for E. guineensis. Full strength media were used separately to regenerate plantlets directly using immature zygotic embryos (IZEs), and through somatic embryogenesis of calli obtained from IZEs. The plantlets regenerated by direct regeneration on three media were examined...

We identified the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) tanmei/emb2757 (tan) mutation that causes defects in both embryo and seedling development. tan mutant embryos share many characteristics with the leafy cotyledon (lec) class of mutants in that they accumulate anthocyanin, are intolerant of desiccation, form trichomes on cotyledons, and have reduced accumulation of storage proteins and lipids....

Knowledge of the proteome of the early gymnosperm embryo could provide important information for optimizing plant cloning procedures and for establishing platforms for research into plant development/regulation and in vitro transgenic studies. Compared with angiosperms, it is more difficult to induce somatic embryogenesis in gymnosperms; success in this endeavour could be increased, however, if...

The canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays a crucial role in the maintenance of the balance between proliferation and differentiation throughout embryogenesis and tissue homeostasis. β-Catenin, encoded by the Ctnnb1 gene, mediates an intracellular signaling cascade activated by Wnt. It also plays an important role in the maintenance of various types of stem cells including adult stem c...

A major challenge of assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) is to mimic the natural environment required to sustain oocyte and embryo survival. Herein, we show that the ceramide-metabolizing enzyme, acid ceramidase (AC), is expressed in human cumulus cells and follicular fluid, essential components of this environment, and that the levels of this enzyme are positively correlated with the qua...

Azadirachtin has high industrial demand due to its immediate application as an ecofriendly, biodegradable biopesticide and also due to its various other significant bioactivities. To date, the only commercially feasible way to produce azadirachtin is extraction from seeds, but their availability is very limited as the tree flowers only once a year and only one-third of the fruits are collected ...

Mature seeds of Helianthus annuus L. exhibit dormancy that is eliminated during storage in dry conditions. In vitro culture of immature embryos isolated at different times after anthesis showed that the youngest embryos are able to germinate, but within the third week after pollination, dormancy progressively affected most of the embryos. A radioimmunoassay showed that the endogenous abscisic a...

The oocyte-to-embryo transition in mammals depends on maternal proteins and transcripts, which accumulate during oocyte differentiation. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of the junctional proteins beta-catenin and E-cadherin during preimplantation in vitro embryo development in sheep, comparing the competence of adult and prepubertal oocytes. We analysed the concentration of...

Red cells are required not only for adult well-being but also for survival and growth of the mammalian embryo beyond early postimplantation stages of development. The embryo's first "primitive" erythroid cells, derived from a transient wave of committed progenitors, emerge from the yolk sac as immature precursors and differentiate as a semisynchronous cohort in the bloodstream. Surprisingly, th...