Summer heat during spermatogenesis reduces in vitro blastocyst rates and affects sperm quality of next generation bulls.

Background: Due to global warming seasonal heat stress is an increasing problem in temperate zones. Heat stress not only decreases fertility in females, but can also be detrimental to male fertility.

Objectives: We studied the effects of natural summer heat stress during spermatogenesis in Holstein bulls on semen quality parameters and on fertilization performance in vitro and possible intergenerational transmission of effects on the next male generation.

Spontaneous helping in pigs is mediated by helper's social attention and distress signals of individuals in need.

Helping behaviour is of special interest for prosociality because it appears to be motivated by the needs of others. We developed a novel paradigm to investigate helping in pigs () and tested 75 individuals in eight groups in their home pens. Two identical compartments were attached to the pen, equipped with a window, and a door that could be opened from the outside by lifting a handle.

Endocannabinoid administration affects taste preference and the expression of cannabinoid and opioid receptors in the amygdala of early lactating cows.

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of intraperitoneal N-arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA) on taste preference for feed and water, tongue taste receptor signalling (TAS1R2, GNAT3), and endocannabinoid (CNR1, CNR2, GPR55) and opioid (OPRD1, OPRK1, OPRM1, OPRL1) receptors in the amygdala and nucleus accumbens in periparturient cows. We conducted taste preference tests using unaltered, umami-tasting, and sweet-tasting water and feed, before and after calving. After calving, eight cows received AEA injections (3 µg/(kg bodyweight × day), 25 days), whereas eight control (CON) cows received saline injections.

Are -3 PUFAs from Microalgae Incorporated into Membrane and Storage Lipids in Pig Muscle Tissues?-A Lipidomic Approach.

For the study of molecular mechanisms of to lipid transport and storage in relation to dietary effects, lipidomics has been rarely used in farm animal research. A feeding study with pigs (German Landrace sows) and supplementation of microalgae ( sp.) was conducted.

Salivary Cortisol, but Not Oxytocin, Varies With Social Challenges in Domestic Pigs: Implications for Measuring Emotions.

Animals respond to inherently rewarding or punishing stimuli with changes in core affective states, which can be investigated with the aid of appropriate biomarkers. In this study we evaluate salivary cortisol (sCORT) and salivary oxytocin (sOXT) concentrations under baseline conditions and in response to two negatively- and two positively-valenced social challenges in 75 young pigs (), housed and tested in eight social groups. We predicted that: (1) Relative to baseline, weaning and brief social isolation would be associated with increases in sCORT, due to psychosocial stress, and reductions in sOXT, due to a lack of opportunities for social support; and (2) Opportunities for social play, and reunions with group members after a separation would be associated with weaker sCORT responses, and increases in sOXT concentrations compared to baseline and to negative social challenges.

Effects of oral glutamine supplementation on jejunal morphology, development, and amino acid profiles in male low birth weight suckling piglets.

Background: It has been shown that small intestine development in low birth weight (LBW) piglets is impaired. Glutamine (Gln) has been reported to improve piglet health and intestinal function in weaned piglets, but data is scarce in suckling piglets. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of oral Gln supplementation compared to Alanine (Ala) on jejunal development and function in 5 and 12 d old male LBW and normal birth weight (NBW) suckling piglets.

Semiautomated 3D Root Segmentation and Evaluation Based on X-Ray CT Imagery.

Background: Computed X-ray tomography (CTX) is a high-end nondestructive approach for the visual assessment of root architecture in soil. Nevertheless, in order to evaluate high-resolution CTX data of root architectures, manual segmentation of the depicted root systems from large-scale volume data is currently necessary, which is both time consuming and error prone. The duration of such a segmentation is of importance, especially for time-resolved growth analysis, where several instances of a plant need to be segmented and evaluated.

The use of milk Fourier transform mid-infrared spectra and milk yield to estimate heat production as a measure of efficiency of dairy cows.

Background: Transformation of feed energy ingested by ruminants into milk is accompanied by energy losses via fecal and urine excretions, fermentation gases and heat. Heat production may differ among dairy cows despite comparable milk yield and body weight. Therefore, heat production can be considered an indicator of metabolic efficiency and directly measured in respiration chambers.

Drought and heat stress tolerance screening in wheat using computed tomography.

Background: Improving abiotic stress tolerance in wheat requires large scale screening of yield components such as seed weight, seed number and single seed weight, all of which is very laborious, and a detailed analysis of seed morphology is time-consuming and visually often impossible. Computed tomography offers the opportunity for much faster and more accurate assessment of yield components.

Results: An X-ray computed tomographic analysis was carried out on 203 very diverse wheat accessions which have been exposed to either drought or combined drought and heat stress.

In Situ Measurements of Explosive Compound Dissolution Fluxes from Exposed Munition Material in the Baltic Sea.

Underwater munitions containing millions of tons of toxic explosives are present worldwide in coastal marine waters as a result of unexploded ordnance and intentional dumping. The dissolution flux of solid explosives following corrosion of metal munition housings controls the exposure of biological receptors to toxic munition compounds (MC), including TNT: 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, RDX: 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane, and DNB: 1,3-dinitrobenzene. Very little is known about the dissolution behavior of MC in the marine environment.

Evaluating the Species Boundaries of Green Microalgae (Coccomyxa, Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) Using Integrative Taxonomy and DNA Barcoding with Further Implications for the Species Identification in Environmental Samples.

Integrative taxonomy is an approach for defining species and genera by taking phylogenetic, morphological, physiological, and ecological data into account. This approach is appropriate for microalgae, where morphological convergence and high levels of morphological plasticity complicate the application of the traditional classification. Although DNA barcode markers are well-established for animals, fungi, and higher plants, there is an ongoing discussion about suitable markers for microalgae and protists because these organisms are genetically more diverse compared to the former groups.

Direct comparison of MRI and X-ray CT technologies for 3D imaging of root systems in soil: potential and challenges for root trait quantification.

Background: Roots are vital to plants for soil exploration and uptake of water and nutrients. Root performance is critical for growth and yield of plants, in particular when resources are limited. Since roots develop in strong interaction with the soil matrix, tools are required that can visualize and quantify root growth in opaque soil at best in 3D.

Integrative analysis of metabolite and transcript abundance during the short-term response to saline and oxidative stress in the brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus.

The model brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus undergoes extensive transcriptomic changes in response to abiotic stress, many of them related to primary metabolism and particularly to amino acid biosynthesis and degradation. In this study we seek to improve our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the stress tolerance of this alga, in particular with regard to compatible osmolytes, by examining the effects of these changes on metabolite concentrations. We performed extensive metabolic profiling (urea, amino acids, sugars, polyols, organic acids, fatty acids) of Ectocarpus samples subjected to short-term hyposaline, hypersaline and oxidative stress, and integrated the results with previously published transcriptomic data.

Diurnal oscillations of metabolite abundances and gene analysis provide new insights into central metabolic processes of the brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus.

• Knowledge about primary metabolic processes is essential for the understanding of the physiology and ecology of seaweeds. The Ectocarpus siliculosus genome now facilitates integrative studies of the molecular basis of primary metabolism in this brown alga. • Metabolite profiling was performed across two light-dark cycles and under different CO2 and O2 concentrations, together with genome and targeted gene expression analysis.

Substrate utilization profiles of bacterial strains in plankton from the River Warnow, a humic and eutrophic river in north Germany.

Bacteria are very important degraders of organic substances in aquatic environments. Despite their influential role in the carbon (and many other element) cycle(s), the specific genetic identity of active bacteria is mostly unknown, although contributing phylogenetic groups had been investigated. Moreover, the degree to which phenotypic potential (i.

Physiological and biochemical responses of green microalgae from different habitats to osmotic and matric stress.

Growth of five aeroterrestrial green algal strains (Trebouxiophyceae) in response to changing water availabilities-caused by osmotic (ionic) and matric (desiccation) stresses-was investigated in comparison with a freshwater and a marine strain. All investigated algae displayed good growth under brackish conditions while four out of the five aeroterrestrial strains even grew well under full marine conditions (28-40 psu). The comparison between growth responses in liquid medium, on solid agarose, and on glass fiber filters at 100% air humidity indicated a broad growth tolerance of aeroterrestrial algae towards diminished water availability.

Chilling-induced photoinhibition in nine isolates of Valonia utricularis (Chlorophyta) from different climate regions.

Chilling induced inhibition of photosynthesis was studied in nine isolates of the marine tropical to warm-temperate green macrophyte Valonia utricularis (Roth) C. Agardh. According to their temperature requirements for growth and survival, the isolates belong to a cold-tolerant Atlantic/Mediterranean group and a cold-sensitive Indo-west Pacific group.