Search results for " Embryos"

Gametic embryogenesis through isolated microspore culture in Corylus avellana L.

2015

Haploid technology is a valuable plant breeding tool for obtaining homozygosity particularly in woody plants. Hazelnut, the world’s sixth ranking nut tree crop is a monoecious, anemophilous species. It is characterized by a sporophytic incompatibility system that prevents production of homozygous plants with conventional methods, involving several self-pollination cycles. In this study, gametic embryogenesis, in particular isolated microspore culture, was tried with five genotypes. Two culture media were tested and four temperature stress treatments were applied to the isolated microspores that were cultivated at the vacuolated developmental stage. To our knowledge, this is the first report…

Holm Oak Somatic Embryogenesis: Current Status and Future Perspectives

2019

Quercus ilex (holm oak) is one of the most representative trees in the Mediterranean basin, but now the sustainability of its ecosystems is at serious risk due to the lack of natural regeneration and to the presence of a severe disease called oak decline that has caused the death of thousands of trees. The application of biotechnological tools, such as somatic embryogenesis, allows programs of genetic improvement of the species to be speeded up and helps in the conservation of its ecosystems. Somatic embryogenesis is currently considered one of the main biotechnological techniques that has demonstrated significant benefits when has applied to forest tree species, providing significant advan…

Autophagy is required for sea urchin oogenesis and early development.

2016

SummaryAutophagy is a major intracellular pathway for the degradation and recycling of cytosolic components. Emerging evidence has demonstrated its crucial role during the embryo development of invertebrates and vertebrates. We recently demonstrated a massive activation of autophagy in Paracentrotus lividus embryos under cadmium stress conditions, and the existence of a temporal relationship between induced autophagy and apoptosis. Although there have been numerous studies on the role of autophagy in the development of different organisms, information on the autophagic process during oogenesis or at the start of development in marine invertebrates is very limited. Here we report our recent …

Effects of exposure to gadolinium on the development of geographically and phylogenetically distant sea urchins species.

2016

Gadolinium (Gd), a metal of the lanthanide series used as contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging, is released into the aquatic environment. We investigated the effects of Gd on the development of four sea urchin species: two from Europe, Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula, and two from Australia, Heliocidaris tuberculata and Centrostephanus rodgersii. Exposure to Gd from fertilization resulted in inhibition or alteration of skeleton growth in the plutei. The similar morphological response to Gd in the four species indicates a similar mechanism underlying abnormal skeletogenesis. Sensitivity to Gd greatly varied, with the EC50 ranging from 56 nM to 132 μM across the four species…

Simultaneous Boron Ion‐Channel/Growth Factor Receptor Activation for Enhanced Vascularization

2018

[EN] Boron ion is essential in metabolism and its concentration is regulated by ion-channel NaBC1. NaBC1 mutations cause corneal dystrophies such as Harboyan syndrome. Here we propose a 3D molecular model for NaBC1 and show that simultaneous stimulation of NaBC1 and vascular growth factor receptors (VEGFR) promote angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo with ultra-low concentrations of VEGF. We show Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) organization into tubular structures indicative of vascularization potential. Enhanced cell sprouting was found only in the presence of VEGF and boron, effect abrogated after blocking NaBC1. We demonstrate that stimulated NaBC1 promotes angiogenesis via P…

Autophagy as a defense strategy against stress: focus on Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos exposed to cadmium

2015

Autophagy is used by organisms as a defense strategy to face environmental stress. This mechanism has been described as one of the most important intracellular pathways responsible for the degradation and recycling of proteins and organelles. It can act as a cell survival mechanism if the cellular damage is not too extensive or as a cell death mechanism if the damage/stress is irreversible; in the latter case, it can operate as an independent pathway or together with the apoptotic one. In this review, we discuss the autophagic process activated in several aquatic organisms exposed to different types of environmental stressors, focusing on the sea urchin embryo, a suitable system recently in…

Identification and Characterization of Extracellular Vesicles and Its DNA Cargo Secreted During Murine Embryo Development

2020

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are known to transport DNA, but their implications in embryonic implantation are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate EVs production and secretion by preimplantation embryos and assess their DNA cargo. Murine oocytes and embryos were obtained from six- to eight-week-old females, cultured until E4.5 and analyzed using transmission electron microscopy to examine EVs production. EVs were isolated from E4.5-day conditioned media and quantified by nanoparticle tracking analysis, characterized by immunogold, and their DNA cargo sequenced. Multivesicular bodies were observed in murine oocytes and preimplantation embryos together with the secretion of EVs t…

Manganese: A New Emerging Contaminant in the Environment

2012

The environment is composed of the atmosphere, earth and water. According to the World Health Organization, more than 100,000 chemicals are released into the global ambient every year as a consequence of their production, use and disposal. The fate of a chemical substance depends on its chemical application and physical-chemical properties, in combination with the characteristics of the environment where it is released. Chemical substances or contaminants discharged into the environment may be “natural” or “manmade”. One of the most misunderstood concepts regarding contamination is the missinterpretation of term “natural”. A “natural” contaminant is one substance that can occur without huma…

Seed mass variation and in vitro embryos culture of Abies nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei

2009

New options in assisted reproduction technology: the Cryotop method of oocyte vitrification

2008

The Cryotop vitrification method has been shown to be a very useful tool for oocyte cryopreservation, giving excellent results regarding survival and clinical outcome. There are several clinical situations in which oocyte cryopreservation provides solutions that have not been available to date. This report describes three of these situations: (i) a low-responder patient who needed a single gene diagnosis due to the presence of a genetic disease; (ii) a patient undergoing endometrial bleeding on the day of oocyte retrieval who was also affected by a genetic disorder; and (iii) a patient who failed to become pregnant after the donation of vitrified oocytes and subsequently had the re-vitrifie…