Histological and morphometric evaluation of the urethra and penis in male New Zealand White rabbits

This stereudy aimed at performing a histological and morphometric evaluation of the urethra and penis of male rabbits. Seven male New Zealand White rabbits weighing 2.1–3 kg were used in the study. The whole urethra, from the urinary bladder to the external urethral orifice, was dissected from the rabbits, and the tissue was sliced into sections at an interval of 2 mm. The sections were stained with haematoxylin–eosin, Masson–Goldner trichrome stain, Van Gieson's stain and Movat–Russell modified pentachrome stain. A detailed evaluation of the morphology and morphometry was performed. The parameters assessed were the type and height of epithelium, thickness and composition of connective tissue, and thickness and structure of muscularis. The histological structure of the rabbit urethra was found to be similar to humans. However, although the rabbits were found to have the same type of penis as the humans, the internal structure of the corpora cavernosa, the relative thickness of the tunica albuginea and the rudimentary glands of the penis were found to differ in these animals. The results of the present study may be useful in the designing of implants, drug testing or surgical procedures on the physiological and pathological urethra.     

Effect of Conceptus on Transforming Growth Factor (TGF) β1 mRNA Expression and Protein Concentration in the Porcine Endometrium—In Vivo and In Vitro Studies

Transforming growth factor (TGF) β and its receptors are expressed at the conceptus-maternal interface during early pregnancy in the pig. The present studies were conducted to examine: (1) the effect of conceptus products on TGFβ1 mRNA expression and protein concentration in the porcine endometrium using in vivo and in vitro models, and (2) the effect of TGFβ1 on proliferation of porcine trophoblast cells in vitro. During in vivo experiments, gilts with one surgically detached uterine horn were slaughtered on days 11 or 14 of the estrous cycle and pregnancy. For in vitro studies, endometrial explants and luminal epithelial (LE) cells co-cultured with stromal (ST) cells were treated with conceptus-exposed medium (CEM). Moreover, porcine trophoblast cells were treated with TGFβ1, and the number of viable cells was measured. On day 11, the presence of conceptuses had no effect on TGFβ1 mRNA expression, but decreased the TGFβ1 protein concentration in the connected uterine horn compared with the detached uterine horn. In contrast to day 11, on day 14 after estrus, TGFβ1 mRNA expression and protein content in the endometrium collected from the gravid uterine horn were greater when compared with the contralateral uterine horn. The treatment of endometrial slices with CEM resulted in greater TGFβ1 mRNA expression and protein secretion. LE cells responded to CEM with an increased TGFβ1 mRNA level. Moreover, TGFβ1 stimulated the proliferation of day 14 trophoblast cells. In summary, porcine conceptuses may regulate TGFβ1 synthesis in the endometrium at the time of implantation. TGFβ1, in turn, may promote conceptus development by increasing the proliferation of trophoblast cells.     

波兰樱桃产业发展概况

介绍了波兰的樱桃产量、面积和分布,主要品种和栽培模式,为中国的樱桃产业发展提供了系统的产业信息。     

Molecular mapping of genes involved in root hair formation in barley

In the presented study, the existing AFLP and SSR maps of barley were used to find chromosomal position of four genes controlling different stages of root hair development. Four barley mutants were used in the analysis: the root hairless mutant rhl1.b, mutant rhp1.b with root hair development blocked at the initial bulge formation, mutant rhi1.a with irregular pattern of sparsely located root hairs and mutant rhs1.a with very short root hairs. Each mutant was crossed with parents of ‘Steptoe’/‘Morex’ mapping population and F₂ progenies of crosses: mutant × ‘Steptoe’ and mutant × ‘Morex’ were analyzed for segregation of root hair phenotype and polymorphic AFLP and SSR markers. It was possible to map all the analyzed genes on barley chromosomes: rhl1 gene on the short arm of chromosome 7H, rhp1 gene on chromosome 1H, rhs1 locus in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 5H and rhi1 gene on the long arm of chromosome 6H. Subsequently, the Bulk Segregant Analysis and AFLP technique were used for saturation of the identified regions with new markers. The joint maps were constructed using as common points the SSR markers located in the target regions. Linkage maps of the regions around the four genes involved in the root hair formation in barley were composed of 8–11 markers and spanned over 16.1–49.0 cM. The distances between localized genes and the closest markers ranged from 1.0 to 3.8 cM. The identified chromosomal locations of genes can be used for their fine mapping and future map-based cloning.     

Estimation of additive and epistatic gene effects of doubled haploid lines of winter oilseed rape (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica napus</Emphasis> L.)

In this paper 60 doubled haploid lines of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) were studied. Genetic parameters as additive and epistasis effects were estimated for nine quantitative traits. The results indicate the importance of both additive and epistasis gene effects of number of branches per plant, number of siliques per plant, number of seeds per silique and silique length in this study.     

Potential involvement of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) metallothioneins in the hydrogen peroxide‐induced regulation of seed vigour

Germination is a crucial process in crop plant life cycle that determines future yield. Hydrogen peroxide plays a significant role in both dormancy release and seed ageing. The potential of the rapeseed metallothioneins (BnMT1‐4) as reactive oxygen species scavengers was investigated. In the presence of H₂O₂, bacterial cells expressing BnMT1‐4 had higher growth rate than control cells. However, such effect was not observed in an oxidative stress oversensitive yap‐1Δ yeast mutant strain expressing BnMT1‐4. Next, it was shown that H₂O₂, up to 100 and 10 mM, promotes rapeseed germination rate and seedling growth, respectively. Moreover, it was demonstrated that in seeds germinating in the presence of H₂O_2, the expression of seed‐specific BnMT4 decreases to a high extent in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. It was shown that the decline in BnMT4 mRNA level, accelerated by up to 10 mM H₂O₂ treatment, correlates positively with increased rapeseed germination and early growth, underscoring the plausible role of BnMT4 as a H₂O₂ scavenging protein that level has to be downregulated in conditions where the compound is needed. Finally, it was demonstrated that H₂O₂ could be used as a priming agent of rapeseeds.     

Herbicidal pyridyl derivatives of aminomethylene-bisphosphonic acid inhibit plant glutamine synthetase

A series of aminomethylene-bisphosphonic acid derivatives, previously synthesized and shown to be endowed with herbicidal properties, were evaluated as potential inhibitors of plant glutamine synthetase. The cytosolic form of the enzyme was partially purified from rice cultured cells and assayed in the presence of millimolar concentrations of the compounds by means of three different assay methods, respectively measuring the hemibiosynthetic, the transferase, and the full biosynthetic reactions. Several compounds were found to exert a remarkable inhibition, with I(50) values similar to those obtained under the same conditions with a well-established inhibitor of glutamine synthetase, the herbicide phosphinothricin. Contrary to the reference compound, enzyme kinetics accounted for a reversible inhibition mechanism. The biological activity of the most active derivatives was further characterized by measuring free glutamine levels in cell suspension rice cultures following treatment with the inhibitors. Results confirmed their ability to interfere in vivo with nitrogen metabolism. A preliminary analysis of structure-activity relationship allowed it to be hypothesized that steric rather than electronic factors are responsible for the inhibitory potential of these compounds.