Asymmetric division of zygote is critical for pattern formation during early embryogenesis in plants and animals. It requires integration of the intrinsic and extrinsic cues prior to and/or after fertilization. How these cues are translated into developmental signals is poorly understood. Here through genetic screen for mutations affecting early embryogenesis, we identified an Arabidopsis mutan...

Objectives- To isolate, culture-expand and differentiate mesenchymal stem cells from ovine bone marrow and determine their culture requirements for high expansion rate. Design- Experimental study. Animals- Five Shal sheep. Procedures- In this study, ovine marrow cells were plated and culture expanded through 3 successive subcultures. The resultant cells were then plated at differentiating condi...

A new, rapid method for purification of calmodulin-stimulated phosphodiesterase from bovine, ovine, and porcine brain using only DEAE-agarose and calmodulin-Sepharose chromatography is described. Purified enzymes from the three species each exhibited a single polypeptide of Mr approximately 59,000 on gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. Proteolysis of ovine and bovine enzymes with a...

Nucleotide sequences of 16S rDNA and rpoB gene of 25 bovine and 6 ovine Histophilus somni strains were determined to detect subtle differences between the host animal species. The 1465 nucleotide residues of the 16S rDNA exhibited levels of sequence similarities of 99.4% or more. The high sequence similarity of the 16S rDNA of recently described species H. somni was confirmed in the 31 strains ...

Pulmonary surfactant promotes alveolar stability by lowering the surface tension at the air-liquid interface in the peripheral air spaces. The three surfactant proteins SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C contribute to dynamic surface properties involved during respiration. We have cloned and sequenced the complete cDNAs for ovine SP-A and SP-C and two distinct forms of ovine SP-B cDNAs. The nucleotide sequen...

Fertilization and zygote development are obligate features of the malaria parasite life cycle and occur during parasite transmission to mosquitoes. The surface protein PFS48/45 is expressed by male and female gametes of Plasmodium falciparum and PFS48/45 antibodies prevent zygote development and transmission. Here, gene disruption was used to show that Pfs48/45 and the ortholog Pbs48/45 from a ...

BACKGROUND It is known that repeated failure of assisted reproduction treatment (ART) can be due to a paternal effect. This study was undertaken to analyse the possible relationship between ART failure and sperm DNA fragmentation. METHODS Zygote morphology and the percentage of spermatozoa with fragmented DNA (assessed by TUNEL) were compared in two groups using donor oocytes for ICSI attempt...

After fertilization, the sperm and oocyte genomes undergo extensive epigenetic reprogramming to form a totipotent zygote. The dynamic epigenetic changes during early embryo development primarily involve DNA methylation and demethylation. We have previously identified Gse (gonad-specific expression gene) to be expressed specifically in germ cells and early embryos. Its encoded protein GSE is pre...

The sexual cycle of the unicellular Chlamydomonas reinhardtii culminates in the formation of diploid zygotes that differentiate into dormant spores that eventually undergo meiosis. Mating between gametes induces rapid cell wall shedding via the enzyme g-lysin; cell fusion is followed by heterodimerization of sex-specific homeobox transcription factors, GSM1 and GSP1, and initiation of zygote-sp...

BACKGROUND Sheep with prion protein (PrP) gene polymorphisms QQ171 and RQ171 were shown to be susceptible to the prion causing L-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy (L-BSE), although RQ171 sheep specifically propagated a distinctive prion molecular phenotype in their brains, characterized by a high molecular mass protease-resistant PrP fragment (HMM PrPres), distinct from L-BSE in QQ171 sheep...