Oocytes collected from superovulated Swiss albino mice were activated by heat-shock and/or fertilized in vitro. Electron microscopy showed that the cortical reaction in heat-treated eggs was incomplete. Digestion of the zona pellucida of untreated, heat-treated and fertilized eggs by pronase showed that zona pellucida hardening did occur but was weaker in heat-treated than in fertilized eggs. F...

Vertical distribution of eggs of the macadamia nutborer Ecdytolopha torticornis Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and its preference of oviposition sites within and between macadamia cultivars were studied in Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica, in 1992 (N = 6,939). E. torticornis eggs were found throughout the foliar parts of the tree, but fewer eggs were laid in the crown top than in the mid or l...

SPF-eggs are used for the production and control of vaccines for humans and animals. This presentation describes the major areas in which embryonated SPF-eggs are used. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages of using these eggs in production and control of vaccines will be discussed in comparison to conventional eggs on the one hand and cell lines which are derived from SPF-eggs on the o...

Avian leukosis viruses (ALVS) cause different types of tumours in poultry and can affect the health and egg production of the birds. To investigate the presence of the virus in chicken layer flocks in Shiraz, 222 egg albumen from local layer breeder (25 eggs), local layer grand parent (30 eggs), broiler breeder (60 eggs), commercial layer (46 eggs) and broiler grand parent (61 eggs) were tested...

Food borne diseases are considered as the major problems for public health in the world and salmonella serotypes are the most important pathogens causing these types of diseases. Present study was carried out for the isolation of salmonella and determination of their antibiotic sensitivity and serovars from local, industrial and breeder poultry eggs. In this cross-sectional survey, 300 samples ...

The subgroup J of ALV (ALV-J) has emerged as an important pathogen of meat-type chickens since1989. This virus is responsible for economic losses due to both mortality and depressed performance inchickens. So, the objective of this study is the detection of ALV-J in the albumen of commercial and nativefowl eggs using RT-PCR. Three hundred and seventy egg albumens were randomly selected from dif...

Although Schistosoma japonicum egg granulomas are generally considered to be similar to those of S. mansoni (which are largely immunologic reactions of the delayed hypersensitivity type) there are suggestions that the histopathology and perhaps the etiology of the lesions are different. In mice with light S. japonicum infections, at 5 weeks after infection (2 weeks after egg production began), ...

Microbial infection is a critical source of mortality for early life stages of oviparous vertebrates, but parental defenses against infection are less well known. Avian incubation has been hypothesized to reduce the risk of trans-shell infection by limiting microbial growth of pathogenic bacteria on eggshells, while enhancing growth of commensal or beneficial bacteria that inhibit or competitiv...

This study evaluated the ability of Campylobacter jejuni to penetrate through the pores of the shells of commercial eggs and colonize the interior of these eggs, which may become a risk factor for human infection. Furthermore, this study assessed the survival and viability of the bacteria in commercial eggs. The eggs were placed in contact with wood shavings infected with C. jejuni to check the...

When fertilized one-cell eggs are subjected to distilled water treatment for 2-6 min, cytoplasm bulges through the sperm-slit in the zona pellucida and forms a cytoplasmic fragment (CF). CFs were observed in 86-5% of eggs; in 20-9% of cases CFs contained a pronucleus (or pronuclei). In 53-4% of eggs permanent incorporation of the second polar body (2 P.B.) into the egg cytoplasm occurred. These...