Hormonally regulated proteinaceous material secreted in hamster vaginal discharge is detected via the vomeronasal organ and elicits copulatory behavior in males. The major soluble protein in estrous vaginal discharge has been isolated, characterized by molecular weight and amino acid content, and shown to have substantial aphrodisiac activity. The aphrodisiac activity of the purified protein is...

Peanut produces aerial flowers but buries its developing seeds into the ground by means of a specialized organ, the gynophore. Gravitropism is the unusual character of gynophore as reproductive organ. Recently, we found the gynophores grow directly upward in mycoplasma-like organisms (MLO) infected peanut plants. To explain the negative gravitropism of the MLO-infected gynophores, gynophores fr...

To understand effects of Bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure on the reproductive organ across generations, we analyzed morphology of the uterus and ovary, and the methylation pattern of HOXA10 gene of the 2(nd) generation. Pregnant mice (F0) were treated with sc injection of BPA in sesame oil at various doses of 0-1,000 mg/kg Bwt on days 12-16 of gestation. Their offspring (F1) were bred by foster mice,...

Human uterus transplantation (UTx) is currently under investigation as a treatment for uterine infertility. Without a uterus transplant, the options available to women with uterine infertility are adoption or surrogacy; only the latter has the potential for a genetically related child. UTx will offer recipients the chance of having their own pregnancy. This procedure occurs at the intersection ...

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is a chemoreceptor organ enclosed in a cartilaginous capsule and separated from the main olfactory epithelium. The vomeronasal neurons have two distinct types of receptor that differ from each other and from the large family of odorant receptors. The VNO receptors are seven-transmembrane receptors coupled to GTP-binding protein, but appear to activate inositol 1,4,5-...

A quantitative morphologic study of photoreceptor cells in pineal organ of the goldfish was conducted over a period of one year in which the photoperiod-temperature regime simulated the natural environment. Statistically significant seasonal differences were found in cell size, nuclei, nucleoli, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi bodies. Peak values generally occurred during the fal...