Although most living organisms reproduce sexually, some have developed a uniparental reproduction where the embryo usually derives from the female parent. A unique case of paternal apomixis in plants has been recently reported in Cupressus dupreziana, an endangered Mediterranean conifer. This species produces unreduced pollen that develop into all-paternal embryos within the seed tissues. We an...

Horizontal transfer (HT) is an event in which the genetic material is transferred from one species to another, even if distantly related, and it has been demonstrated as a possible essential part of the lifecycle of transposable elements (TEs). However, previous studies on the non-LTR R2 retrotransposon, a metazoan-wide distributed element, indicated its vertical transmission since the Radiata-...

Microspore derivatives occurring in culture of maize microspores were studied by light and electron microscopy. The cultures showed a high degree of heterogeneity throughout the whole period of cultivation. Several types of androgenic structures at different developmental stages were observed, indicating a high level of asynchrony among microspores following the androgenic pathway. During the f...

Metronidazole and its derivatives have both antiprotozoal and anti bacterial effects. The reproductive toxicity of metronidazole has been observed in some studies. The aim of this study was to determine the detrimental effects of metronidazole on spermatogenesis and testicular androgenesis in male adult rats. Eighteen male Wistar rats (70-90 days old) were randomly divided into three groups. An...

OBJECTIVES Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), an ovarian-pituitary axis androgen disorder, is a common endocrine disease in women. Obesity-induced androgenesis and imbalance of adipokine secretion may lead to some metabolic features of PCOS. The beneficial effects of polyphenolic compounds such as quercetin have been reported, however, the underlying molecular mechanism is not entirely understoo...

Homozygous and hybrid clonal lines of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were confirmed to be isogenic using multilocus DNA fingerprinting. Homozygous clones were produced by androgenesis and gynogenesis using gametes from androgenetic male and female rainbow trout, respectively. Isogenic F1 hybrid lines were produced by crossing homozygous fish from different strains. One line of hybrid clone...

BACKGROUND Calcium chloride solution is an established injectable sterilant in dogs and other mammals. With cat populations a continuing problem, we sought to explore its first use in cats. Six cats per group were injected with 5%, 10% or 20% calcium chloride dihydrate in saline solution with lignocaine hydrochloride, a local anaesthetic. RESULTS At the 60th day post-injection, cat testes wer...