Several intracellular motility events in the Caenorhabditis elegans zygote (pseudocleavage, the asymmetric meeting of the pronuclei, the segregation of germ line-specific granules, and the generation of an asymmetric spindle) appear to depend on microfilaments (MFs). To investigate how MFs participate in these manifestations of zygotic asymmetry, the distribution of MFs in oocytes and early emb...

Several intracellular motility events in the Caenorhabditis elegans zygote (pseudocleavage, the asymmetric meeting of the pronuclei, the segregation of germ line-specific granules, and the generation of an asymmetric spindle) appear to depend on microfilaments (MFs). To investigate how MFs participate in these manifestations of zygotic asymmetry, the distribution of MFs in oocytes and early emb...

In the vast majority of sexual life cycles, fusion between single-celled gametes is directly followed by nuclear fusion, leading to a diploid zygote and a lifelong commitment between two haploid genomes. Mushroom-forming basidiomycetes differ in two key respects. First, the multicellular haploid mating partners are fertilized in their entirety, each cell being a gamete that simultaneously can b...

the effect of modified vitrification was assessed on cellular development capability in mouse embryos cultured in vitro. in this study, 466 embryos (from zygote to morula stages) were vitrified then thawed embryos have been incubated for in vitro farther development up to blastocyst stage. also, vitrification and thawing procedures were the same for all experimental groups. mouse different embr...

BACKGROUND Several randomized controlled trials have not shown a benefit from preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) biopsy of cleavage-stage embryos and assessment of up to 10 chromosomes for aneuploidy. Therefore, a proof-of-principle study was planned to determine the reliability of alternative form of PGS, i.e. PGS by polar body (PB) biopsy, with whole genome amplification and microarray-b...

The precise origins of sexual reproduction itself remain unclear (Bell 1982, Michod and Levin 1988), but the potential advantages of the genetic variation produced by sexual reproduction have been noted for almost half a century (Fisher 1958, Charnov 1982). Prime among these are the advantages to individuals, subject to changing environments, of being able to produce variable offspring through ...

Passalurosis is a prevalent disease among helminthiases of domestic rabbits. This invasion caused by the nematode Passalurus ambiguus (Nematoda, Oxyuroidae), which cosmopolitan and localized in cecum colon highly contagious capable unlimited spread, due to biological characteristics its pathogen, such as conditions that ensure maximum preservation parasites at exogenous stages their development...

Fertilization events following coalescence of the gamete plasma membranes and culminating in the formation of the zygote nucleus were investigated by light and electron microscopy in the sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata. Shortly after the spermatozoon passes through the fertilization cone, it rotates approximately 180 degrees and comes to rest lateral to its point of entrance. Concomitantly, the ...

The malaria parasite develops sexually in the mosquito midgut upon entry with the ingested blood meal before it can invade the midgut epithelium and embark on sporogony. Recent data have identified a number of distinct transcriptional programmes operating during this critical phase of the parasite life cycle. We aimed at characterizing the parental contribution to these transcriptional programm...