Effect of testicular tissue lysate on developmental competence of porcine oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of testicular tissue lysate (TTL) on developmental competence of germinal vesicle (GV) stage porcine oocytes. Two types of TTL were prepared through repeated freeze–thaw in liquid nitrogen, one from whole testicular tissue (wTTL) and other from either of four different sections of testes, namely just beneath the tunica albuginea (TA), from the transitional area between the seminiferous cord/tubules and the mediastinum testis (TR) and from the intermediate area (parenchymal tissue origin) and CE (cauda epididymis origin). The whole or section‐wise TTL treatments were given for 44 hr during in vitro maturation (IVM). Oocyte maturation was done in either of the two media, namely defined (high‐performance basic medium for porcine oocyte maturation, commercially available) and serum containing (TCM199). After maturation, oocytes were co‐incubated with fresh spermatozoa for 6 hr and then transferred to embryo culture media. Treatment of GV stage oocytes with wTTL (1 mg/ml) increased the cleavage and morula percentage rate (69.23 ± 6.23 and 48.15 ± 6.77, respectively) than that of their control (58.33 ± 8.08 and 32.54 ± 5.53, respectively) in defined media, and in serum‐containing media, cleavage and morula percentage rate were almost equal in both treatment (54.56 ± 7.79 and 34.70 ± 6.78, respectively) and control (59.52 ± 8.21 and 38.52 ± 6.54, respectively). However, effect of wTTL was not significant. In case of section‐wise TTL supplements, TR section significantly (p < .01) improved cleavage and morula rate (58.43 ± 7.98 and 36.14 ± 6.89, respectively) followed by TA. In conclusion, present study indicates that IVM, in vitro fertilization and in vitro culture of embryo are improved in the presence of TTL, particularly its TR section. Further study is expected to reveal the principal components of TTL which may prove useful for IVM.     

Secondary stress responses in Indian major carps Labeo rohita (Hamilton), Catla catla (Hamilton) and Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton) fry to increasing packing densities

Glycogen content and metabolic enzyme activities viz. lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), aspartate amino transferase (AST) and alanine amino transferase (ALT) in Indian major carps, Labeo rohita, Catla catla and Cirrhinus mrigala, were investigated after a 6 h transportation trial to compare the species‐specific variation and the effect of increased packing density on the metabolism. Fish (45±5 mm, 0.5±0.1 g) were packed in three densities (100, 150 and 200 L^?1) for the experiment, and 12 specimens of each species were randomly sampled from all the treatments at the end of transportation. The glycogen content of L. rohita ingerlings decreased significantly (P<0.05) with increasing packing density. The activities of enzymes LDH, MDH, AST and ALT showed a rising trend with increasing packing density in all the three species. Species‐specific differences were observed in various tested parameters at the lowest packing density (100 fry L^?1). Alanine amino transferase and LDH activities were significantly (P<0.05) lower in C. mrigala as compared with the other two species. However, glycogen reserves and MDH activity were not significantly different (P>0.05) among the species. The present study reveals that the optimum packing density for Indian major carp fry (100 fry L^?1) for transportation up to 6 h and metabolic regimes are species specific during transportation.     

Field infiltration indices in the evaluation of tillage practices

Field infiltration rates were determined in order to evaluate different tillage treatments on a sandy loam soil. The following indices were chosen for evaluation: the infiltration rates at 5 min (IR-5), at 30 min (IR-30), and at 90 min (IR-90); the change in infiltration rate during 1 hour from 30 min to 90 min, designated as IR-(30–90); and also the cumulative infiltration at 90 min (CI-90). It was found that the index IR-(30–90) is statistically superior to other indices for the evaluation of tillage practices. It was also found that initial soil moisture content influences infiltration. The regression coefficients between initial moisture and IR-30, and initial moisture and CI-90 may also be used as indices for describing field infiltration differences. However, the index IR-(30–90) has been found to be free from the influence of initial moisture, and can be used directly for the evaluation of tillage treatments. For other soil types, however, the times used for the indices may be different.     

Proliferating cells express mRNAs with shortened 3' untranslated regions and fewer microRNA target sites

Messenger RNA (mRNA) stability, localization, and translation are largely determined by sequences in the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR). We found a conserved increase in expression of mRNAs terminating at upstream polyadenylation sites after activation of primary murine CD4+ T lymphocytes. This program, resulting in shorter 3'UTRs, is a characteristic of gene expression during immune cell activation and correlates with proliferation across diverse cell types and tissues. Forced expression of full-length 3'UTRs conferred reduced protein expression. In some cases the reduction in protein expression could be reversed by deletion of predicted microRNA target sites in the variably included region. Our data indicate that gene expression is coordinately regulated, such that states of increased proliferation are associated with widespread reductions in the 3'UTR-based regulatory capacity of mRNAs.     

Anther callus induction and green plant regeneration at high frequencies from an interspecific rice hybrid Oryza sativa Linn. x O. rufipogon Griff

Summary Callus induction and green plant regeneration at high frequencies from an interspefic hybrid, Oryza sativa L. x O. rufipogon Griff. has been achieved by simply coordinating the growth regulators in the induction medium. The study was conducted with two different basal media (Potato-2 and N₆) and seven different combinations of growth regulators 2,4-D, NAA and kinetin. Synergistic effects of the two auxins in enhanced anther response to callus induction and subsequent green plant regeneration were observed in both media. The highest frequency of callus induction was obtained on Potato-2 medium supplemented with 1 mg/12,4-D, 2 mg/l NAA and 1 mg/l kinetin. The same combination of growth regulators which yielded higher frequencies of callus induction also induced higher mean number of calli per anther. Although the calli formed on N₆ medium showed high regenerability, there was a concomitant increase in the number of albinos among the regenerants. The auxins in the induction media had considerable influence on the regeneration capacity of the calli. The regeneration frequencies were higher from calli formed in the presence of both auxins in the induction media. The levels of growth regulator combinations seem to influence the green plant regeneration especially for calli induced on Potato-2 medium. Among the pollen grain derived plants the majority were either haploids or double haploids and very few were chromosomal variants.     

Captive Breeding of Endangered Ompok pabda with Ovatide

The Pabdah catfish, Ompok pabda, was successfully spawned with the synthetic hormone Ovatide at two different doses (0.4 and 0.6 ml/kg of body weight of female). The latency period was 9–10 h at 0.6 ml compared to 10–12 h at 0.4 ml kg^?1 of body weight. All the females spawned successfully. Average rate of fertilization (75.5 %) and hatching (60.5%) was higher with a dose of 0.6 ml kg^?1, while lower fertilization (65.1%) and hatching rate (45%) were observed at 0.3 ml kg^?1 of body weight. Fecundity ranged from 80–130 eggs gm^?1 body weight of female. Eggs hatched between 12–14 h after spawning at a water temperature 28°–32°C. The mean egg diameter was 0.95 ± 0.15 mm.     

Delineation of chemically polluted groundwater regions in Visakhapatnam Basin,India

Water quality investigations were carried out in the Visakhapatnam basin to delineate groundwater pollution. It was observed that the groundwater in some localities of the basin is contaminated due to natural geological formation sources, industrial effluents, irrigation, and urbanization. The ring average method used in geophysical interpretation to separate regional and residual anomalies was modified and applied to the water quality data in the basin to locate chemically polluted groundwater regions. It is observed that the method can be applied successfully to delineate regions of groundwater pollution and it may also be helpful in identifying the sources.     

Complement-fixing antigens in hamster tumors induced by the Bryan strain of Rous sarcoma virus

Hamster tumors transplanted subcutaneously from primary intracranial tumors which developed after inoculation of the Bryan strain of Rous sarcoma virus, contained virusspecific tumor antigens indistinguishable from those induced by the Schmidt-Ruppin strain.