Induced breeding, embryonic and larval development in Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch) in the agro-climatic conditions of Maharashtra

Heteropneustes fossilis was induced bred for the first time in the agro-climatic conditions of Maharashtra, India. The embryonic development was completed within 16-18h after fertilisation. Head and tail ends were distinguishable after 3h and 11-12 somites were visible after 6-7h. The eggs started hatching after 14h of incubation. Average hatching time was 16-18h at 26 degrees C. In first day old pro-larva, notochord was deflected upwards, eyes were darkly pigmented and alimentary canal appeared. In fourth day old post-larva intestinal coiling could be seen and yolk was absorbed. Aerial respiration started by 8th day. The 10 day old post-larva was free swimming and fed voraciously attaining a length of 20 mm in 30 days.

Fecundity, morphometry post embryonic growth and development of Caridina simoni Bouvier (Decapoda: Atyidae)

The fecundity, morphometry and the post embryonic development of Caridina simoni which is the commonest atyid shrimp in Sri Lanka were studied. The fecundity values ranged from 12-55. There was a linear relationship between the logarithmic values of fecundity and body length and the same relationship was obtained for body length and weight. It was seen that the developmental period of this species was less than six days and during development it passed through six zoeal stages.

Effect of combined thyroxine and cortisol treatment on hatching of eggs, post-embryonic growth and survival of larvae of Heteropneustes fossilis

In order to record the effects of thyroxine and cortisol (individual/combined) on hatching, post-embryonic growth and survival of larvae of Heteropneustes fossilis, newly fertilized eggs were given bath immersion treatments of L-thyroxine (T sub(4); 0.05 mg/l), cortisol (0.50 mg/l) and T sub(4)+ cortisol (0.05 mg/l+0.50 mg/l) for 15 days. Hatching of eggs, growth and survival of the larvae improved significantly (P<0.001) in the hormone treated groups as compared to those of control. The frequency of deformities was reduced in the combined hormone treatment group. The present observations suggest that the advanced digestive function probably induced by T sub(4)+cortisol treatment might have resulted in improvement in food utilization during the critical phases of first feeding and promoted vital developmental processes resulting in uniform growth, decreased mortality, better survival and transformation of larvae to juveniles. This combined hormone therapy appears to have practical utility in fish hatchery practice for better success in larval rearing.

A comparative study on the embryonic development of gynogen, triploid, haploid and normal diploid embryos of stinging catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis

UV irradiation and cold shock were applied on the eggs of stinging catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, to produce haploid,. gynogen and triploid embryos. A comparative account of the various features· of embryonic development in chromosomally manipulated groups viz. haploid, gynogen and triploid and non-manipulated normal diploid group of H fossilis has been discussed. A slow development and delayed hatching were observed in gynogen and triploid embryos compared to those in normal diploid (control) groups. Mass mortality was observed in all chromosomally manipulated groups particularly during the gastrulation stage. The hatchlings of the gynogen, triploid and normal diploid were similar in overall appearance.

Embryonic stages and eye-specific gene expression of the local cyprinoid fish Anabarilius grahami in Fuxian Lake, China

Anabarilius grahami is a cyprinoid fish endemic to Fuxian Lake, Yunnan, China. In this study, a comprehensive staging series of A. grahami was produced. The embryonic development of A. grahami was divided into six main periods: zygote period, cleavage per

In vitro construction of a recombinant human embryonic brain-derived neurotrophin-4 gene and pEGFP-N1 vector

BACKGROUND: Neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) can promote neuronal growth, development, differentiation, maturation, and survival. NT-4 can also improve recovery and regeneration of injured neurons, but cannot pass through the blood-brain barrier, which limits its ac

Transplantable neural progenitor populations derived from Rhesus monkey embryonic stem cells

Cell-based therapies using embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in the treatment of neural disease will require the generation of homogenous donor neural progenitor (NP) populations. Here we describe an efficient culture system containing hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and G5 supplement for the production of highly enriched (88.3% +/- 8.1%)populations of NPs from rhesus monkey ESCs. Additional purification resulted in NP preparations that were 98% nestin positive. Moreover, NPs, as monolayers or neurospheres, could be maintained for prolonged periods of time in media containing HGF+G5 or G5 alone. In vitro differentiation and in vivo transplantation assays showed that NPs could differentiate into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. The kinds and quantities of differentiated cells derived from NPs were closely correlated with their niches in vivo. Glial differentiation was predominant in periventricular areas, whereas cells migrating into the cortex were mostly neurons. Cell counts showed that 2 months after transplantation, approximately 25% of transplanted NPs survived and 65% - 80% of the surviving transplanted cells migrated along the ventricular wall or in a radial fashion. Subcloning demonstrated that several clonal lines derived from NPs expressed nestin and differentiated into three neural lineages in vitro and in rat brains in vivo. In contrast, some subcloned lines showed restricted differentiation both in vitro and in vivo in rat brains. These observations set the stage for obtaining highly enriched NPs and evaluating the efficacy of NP-based transplantation therapy in the nonhuman primate and will provide a platform for probing the molecular mechanisms that control neural induction.

Homologous feeder cells support undifferentiated growth and pluripotency in monkey embryonic stem cells

In the present study, five homologous feeder cell lines were developed for the culture and maintenance of rhesus monkey embryonic stem cells (rESCs). Monkey ear skin fibroblasts (MESFs), monkey oviductal fibroblasts (MOFs), monkey follicular granulosa fibroblast-like (MFG) cells, monkey follicular granulosa epithelium-like (MFGE) cells, and clonally derived fibroblasts from MESF (CMESFs) were established and compared with the ability of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) to support rESC growth. MESF, MOF, MFG, and CMESF cells, but not MFGE cells, were as good as or better than MEFs in supporting undifferentiated growth while maintaining the differentiation potential of the rESCs. In an effort to understand the unique properties of supportive feeder cells, expression levels for a number of candidate genes were examined. MOF, MESF, and MEF cells highly expressed leukemia inhibitory factor, ciliary neurotrophic factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, stem cell factor, transforming growth factor PI, bone morphogenetic protein 4, and WNT3A, whereas WNT2, WNT4, and WNT5A were downregulated, compared with MFGE cells. Additionally, all monkey feeder cell lines expressed Dkk1 and LRP6, antagonists of the WNT signaling pathway, but not WNT1, WNT8B, or Dkk2. rESCs grown on homologous feeders maintained normal karyotypes, displayed the characteristics of ESCs, including morphology, alkaline phosphatase, Oct4, the cell surface markers stage-specific embryonic antigen (SSEA)-3, SSEA-4, tumor-related antigen (TRA)-1-60, and TRA-1-81, and formed cystic embryoid bodies in vitro that included differentiated cells representing the three major germ layers. These results indicate that the four homologous feeder cell lines can be used to support the undifferentiated growth and maintenance of pluripotency in rESCs.

Generation and characterization of rabbit embryonic stem cells

We described the derivation of four stable pluripotent rabbit embryonic stem cell ( ESC) lines, one ( RF) from blastocysts fertilized in vivo and cultured in vitro and three ( RP01, RP02, and RP03) from parthenogenetic blastocysts. These ESC lines have be

Captive breeding and embryonic development of honey gourami, Colisa sota (Ham.-Buch.)

Honey Gourami, Colisa sota, has high ornamental as well as food value. The natural resources of this species are gradually declining, due to destruction of its habitat, over fishing for aquarium trade and human consumption. The fish was bred in captivity under controlled environment. It laid about 200-400 eggs in bubble nest built by the male. Hatching started within 28-30hrs. after egg laying. The hatchlings became free swimming by 3rd to 4th day of hatching. The male showed territoriality and parental care by guarding the eggs and hatchlings. The larval survival was 30-35%. The breeding behavior, embryonic and post embryonic development of the fish were studied.

Dissecting Signaling Pathways That Govern Self-renewal of Rabbit Embryonic Stem Cells

The pluripotency and self-renewal of embryonic stem cells (ESC) are regulated by a variety of cytokines/growth factors with some species differences. We reported previously that rabbit ESC (rESC) are more similar to primate ESC than to mouse ESC. However,

Impairments in embryonic genome activation in rhesus monkey somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a remarkable process in which a somatic cell nucleus is acted upon by the ooplasm via mechanisms that today remain unknown. Here we show the developmental competence (% blastocyst) of embryos derived from SCNT (21%)

Neural progenitors derived from monkey embryonic stem cells in a simple monoculture system

A simple monoculture system. combined with a chemically defined medium containing hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and G5 supplement, was used to induce rhesus monkey embryonic stem cells (rESC) directly into neuroepithelial (NE) cells. Under these conditio

Embryonic and larval development of Mystus gulio (Ham.)

Mystus gulio eggs are strongly adhesive and contain relatively small yolk (0.75-1.0 mm). The egg envelop is thick and transparent. First cleavage (two cells), four cells, eight cells, sixteen cells and multi cells stages were found 20, 25, 35-40, 60 and 70 minutes after fertilization, respectively. The morula stage was visualized within 1.5 h after fertilization. The heart beat visible and the circulatory system commenced after 16 h of fertilization. Embryos hatched 18-20h after activation of egg. The newly hatched larva measured 2.82±0.03 mm in length and 0.32±0.06 mg in weight. The yolk sac was fully absorbed by the third day though larvae commenced exogenous feeding even before completion of yolk absorption. A 5-day old post larva began wandering in search of food. Ten-day old post larvae endowed with eight branched rays in dorsal fin and seven in caudal fin. Fifteen-day old post larvae had the pectm:al spine become stout though the embryonic fin folds had to be disappeared. The length of fingerlings ranged from 25-30 mm after 30 days, and their external features were just like those of an adult except that they were not sexually matured.

Comparative Analysis of Five Different Homologous Feeder Cell Lines in the Ability to Support Rhesus Embryonic Stem Cells

我们以前的研究建立了五株猕猴饲养层细胞系来支持猕猴胚胎干细胞(rESCs)的生长:一岁猴耳皮肤成纤维细胞(MESFs)、两岁猴输卵管成纤维细胞(MOFs)、成年猴卵泡颗粒成纤维样细胞(MFGs)、成年猴卵泡颗粒上皮样细胞(MFGEs),以及MESFs的克隆成纤维细胞(CMESFs).我们发现MESFs、CMESFs、MOFs和MFGs,而不足MFGEs支持猕猴胚胎干细胞(rESCs,rhesus embryonic stem cells)的生长.通过半定量PCR的方法,我们在支持性的饲养层细胞中检测到了一些基因的高表达.在本研究中,我们运用Affymetrix公司的GeneChip Rhesus Macaque Genome Array芯片来研究这五株同源饲养层的表达谱,希望发现哪些细胞因子和信号通路在维持rESCs中起到重要作用.结果表明,除MFGE外,包括GREM2、bFGF,、KITLG,、DKK3、GREM1、AREG、SERPINF1和LTBF1等八个基因的mRNA在支持性的饲养层细胞中高表达.本研究结果提示,很多信号通路在支持rESCs的未分化生长和多潜能性方面可能起到了冗余的作用.