Search results for "sperm"

DNA fragmentation index, pAKT and pERK1/2 in cumulus cells are related to oocyte competence in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization programme

2019

SummaryActivated pERK1/2 and pAKT are key players in supporting cell survival and proliferation pathways. Translocation of pERK1/2 into the nucleus, where it interacts with transcription factors and DNA itself, is instrumental in exerting an anti-apoptotic effect. In this study, pAKT levels, pERK1/2 nuclear localization and DNA fragmentation index (DFI) in cumulus cells of single cumulus–oocyte complexes of patients undergoing in vitro fertilization programmes were evaluated and correlated with the clinical outcome of the related embryos. For a positive clinical outcome of blastocyst development, pERK1/2 nuclear localization and DFI value had a significant inverse relationship, whereas the …

Genetic and potential non-genetic benefits increase offspring fitness of polyandrous females in non- resource based mating system

2010

Background: The adaptive significance of female polyandry is currently under considerable debate. In non-resource based mating systems, indirect, i.e. genetic benefits have been proposed to be responsible for the fitness gain from polyandry. We studied the benefits of polyandry in the Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) using an experimental design in which the material investments by the sires and maternal environmental effects were controlled. Results: Embryonic mortality showed a strong paternal genetic component, and it was lower in polyandrously fertilized offspring (sperm competition of two males) than in monandrous fertilizations. We also found that high sperm velocity was associated w…

Early evolutionary colocalization of the nuclear ribosomal 5S and 45S gene families in seed plants: evidence from the living fossil gymnosperm Ginkgo…

2012

In seed plants, the colocalization of the 5S loci within the intergenic spacer (IGS) of the nuclear 45S tandem units is restricted to the phylogenetically derived Asteraceae family. However, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) colocalization of both multigene families has also been observed in other unrelated seed plant lineages. Previous work has identified colocalization of 45S and 5S loci in Ginkgo biloba using FISH, but these observations have not been confirmed recently by sequencing a 1.8 kb IGS. In this work, we report the presence of the 45S–5S linkage in G. biloba, suggesting that in seed plants the molecular events leading to the restructuring of the ribosomal loci are much o…

Characterization of Erwinia gerundensis A4, an Almond-Derived Plant Growth-Promoting Endophyte

2021

The rapidly increasing global population and anthropogenic climate change have created intense pressure on agricultural systems to produce increasingly more food under steadily challenging environmental conditions. Simultaneously, industrial agriculture is negatively affecting natural and agricultural ecosystems because of intensive irrigation and fertilization to fully utilize the potential of high-yielding cultivars. Growth-promoting microbes that increase stress tolerance and crop yield could be a useful tool for helping mitigate these problems. We investigated if commercially grown almonds might be a resource for plant colonizing bacteria with growth promotional traits that could be use…

A simple HPLC assay for polyamines and their monoacetylderivatives

1993

Chronic Background Radiation Correlates With Sperm Swimming Endurance in Bank Voles From Chernobyl

2022

Sperm quantity and quality are key features explaining intra- and interspecific variation in male reproductive success. Spermatogenesis is sensitive to ionizing radiation and laboratory studies investigating acute effects of ionizing radiation have indeed found negative effects of radiation on sperm quantity and quality. In nature, levels of natural background radiation vary dramatically, and chronic effects of low-level background radiation exposure on spermatogenesis are poorly understood. The Chernobyl region offers a unique research opportunity for investigating effects of chronic low-level ionizing radiation on reproductive properties of wild organisms. We captured male bank voles (Myo…

First insights into female sperm storage duration in tardigrades.

2022

Female sperm storage is ubiquitous in the animal kingdom and it has been shown to be linked to several evolutionary processes, from postcopulatory sexual selection to dispersal. Here we report, for the first time, long-term sperm storage in females of the tardigrade Macrobiotus polonicus. Females, isolated after a short contact with a male, were able to use the stored sperm for up to 5 weeks (mean of 2 weeks), which translates to a considerable proportion of female post-mating longevity under controlled laboratory conditions (60% on average). Our study provides the first insights into the duration of sperm storage, an underexplored feature of the reproductive biology of tardigrades. Additio…

Retrotranspozonu struktūra parastās priedes (Pinus sylvestris L.) genomā un to ekspresija

2014

ANOTĀCIJA Promocijas darbs izstrādāts Latvijas Valsts mežzinātnes institūtā „Silava”. Pētījuma mērķis bija identificēt aktīvos retrotranspozonus parastās priedes (Pinus sylvestris L.) genomā un raksturot to transkripcijas līmeni dažādu stresa veidu ietekmē kontrolētos apstākļos. Pētījumā izmantoti nespecifiskie retrotranspozonu marķieri balstīti uz augsti konservatīvām tRNS piesaistes vietām. Viena klona priežu rametus pakļāva dabā izplatītam karstuma stresam, kukaiņu invāzijai (priežu hermess (Pineus pini L.), kā arī mākslīgi izraisītai augu hormonu (abscīzskābes un salicilskābes) ietekmei. Darba rezultātā identificēti pārsvarā I klases mobīlo elementu pārstāvji, kā arī tos saturošie himēr…

Homeostatic control of polyamine levels under long-term salt stress in Arabidopsis

2011

Salt stress has been frequently studied in its first osmotic phase. Very often, data regarding the second ionic phase is missing. It has also been suggested that Putrescine or/and Spermine could be responsible for salt resistance. In order to test this hypothesis under long-term salt stress, we obtained Arabidopsis thaliana transgenic plants harboring pRD29A::oatADC or pRD29A::GUS construction. Although Putrescine was the only polyamine significantly increased after salt acclimation in pRD29A::oatADC transgenic lines, this rendered in no advantage to this kind of stress. The higher Spermine levels found in WT and transgenic lines when compared to control conditions along with no increment o…

Kin selection in interactions between gametes: Gamete competition, gamete limitation, and sex allocation

2023

Kin selection on one hand, and gamete interactions in post-ejaculatory sexual selection on the other are two major research themes that have risen to prominence over the past half century and have simultaneously developed into central fields of research in evolutionary biology. There is a natural connection between the two: when gametes interact with each other, very commonly many of them originate from the same parent and are thus siblings. For example, sperm competition will almost always involve competition between sibling gametes even if the interacting parents are not related to each other. If parents are related to each other, the relatedness between gametes increases further. Here we…