The capacity of stem cells to self renew and the ability of stem cell daughters to differentiate into highly specialized cells depend on external cues provided by their cellular microenvironments [1-3]. However, how microenvironments are shaped is poorly understood. In testes of Drosophila melanogaster, germ cells are enclosed by somatic support cells. This physical interrelationship depends on...

Somatic embryos were successfully regenerated from callus tissue of anthers and ovaries excised from inflorescences of grapevines infected with grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV). Production of pro-embryogenic masses (PEMS) was controlled by specific growth regulators and culture conditions, including heat incubation at 35°C. Somatic embryos (containing roots and cotyledons) and plantlets were subj...

All of the theory and most of the data on the ecology and evolution of chemical defences derive from terrestrial plants, which have considerable capacity for internal movement of resources. In contrast, most macroalgae--seaweeds--have no or very limited capacity for resource translocation, meaning that trade-offs between growth and defence, for example, should be localised rather than systemic....

Many aspects of octopus growth dynamics are poorly understood, particularly in relation to sub-adult or adult growth, muscle fibre dynamics and repro-somatic investment. The growth of 5 month old Octopus pallidus cultured in the laboratory was investigated under three temperature regimes over a 12 week period: seasonally increasing temperatures (14-18°C); seasonally decreasing temperatures (18-...

In recent years, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as an alternative vertebrate model for energy homeostasis and metabolic diseases, including obesity and anorexia. It has been shown that diet-induced obesity (DIO) in zebrafish shares multiple pathophysiological features with obesity in mammals. However, a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the different pathways of energy expenditu...

BACKGROUND Dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic glucocorticoid, is commonly used to prevent or lessen the morbidity of chronic lung disease in preterm infants. However, evidence is now increasing that this clinical practice negatively affects somatic growth and may result in long-lasting neurodevelopmental deficits. We therefore hypothesized that supporting normal somatic growth may overcome the la...

BACKGROUND Somatic embryogenesis in conifer species has great potential for the forestry industry. Hence, a number of methods have been developed for their efficient and rapid propagation through somatic embryogenesis. Although information is available regarding the previous process-mediated generation of embryogenic cells to form somatic embryos, there is a dearth of information in the literat...

the present study investigated effects of starvation on growth, body chemical composition and non-specific immune parameters in yellow fin seabream.  in this study, 120 fish with a mean length of 8.05± 0.98 cm and weight of 7.46± 1.07 g (was referred as size a) and 120 fish with a mean length of 11.05 ± 0.86 cm and weight of 18.01± 3.07 g (was referred size b) were used with each size was compr...

Embryogenic cultures of Araucaria angustifolia were established in a BM liquid medium supplemented with 2 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 1 μM 6-benzylaminopurine and 1 μM kinetin (BM2) and in a BM medium free of growth regulators (BM0). During 42 days in culture, the cell growth pattern of both cultures was similar. The pH of the culture medium of both BM0 and BM2 underwent progressive redu...

Somatic forward genetic screens have the power to interrogate thousands of genes in a single animal. Retroviral and transposon mutagenesis systems in mice have been designed and deployed in somatic tissues for surveying hematopoietic and solid tumor formation. In the context of cancer, the ability to visually mark mutant cells would present tremendous advantages for identifying tumor formation,...