Many higher eukaryotes have evolved strategies for the maternal control of growth and development of their offspring. In higher plants this is achieved in part by postmeiotic gene activity controlling the development of the haploid female gametophyte. stunter1 (stt1) is a novel, recessive, maternal effect mutant in maize that displays viable, miniature kernels. Maternal inheritance of stt1 resu...

When cells are subjected to various stress factors, they increase the production of a group of proteins called heat shock proteins (hsp). Heat shock proteins are highly conserved proteins present in organisms ranging from bacteria to man. Heat shock proteins enable cells to survive adverse environmental conditions by preventing protein denaturation. Thus the physiological and pathological poten...

Objective To analyse factors influencing the outcome of frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) Method A retrospective analysis was performed in our center on 129 thawing cycles from March 2001 to April 2003. The related parameters were compared between conceived and non-conceived cycles. Results There were totally 129 clinical pregnancies in these transfers (pregnancy rate: 27.1%). Frozen-thawed e...

In recent years, progress has been achieved in the production of pig embryos through IVM and IVF techniques. Cytoplasmic maturation of oocytes has been improved by modifications to IVM procedures. However, the historical problem of polyspermic penetration still remains a major issue to be solved. Recent studies indicate that the type of IVF medium and certain modifications to that medium can re...

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) cascades are signal transduction modules highly conserved in all eukaryotes regulating various aspects of plant biology, including stress responses and developmental programmes. In this study, we characterized the role of MAPK 6 (MPK6) in Arabidopsis embryo development and in post-embryonic root system architecture. We found that the mpk6 mutation caused...

After more than a century of research, the mouse remains the goldstandard model system, for it recapitulates human development and disease and is quickly and highly tractable to genetic manipulations. Fundamental to the power and success of using amousemodel is the ability to stage embryonic mouse development accurately. Past staging systems were limited by the technologies of the day, such tha...