Membrane molecule bouncer regulates sperm binding activity in immature oocytes in the viviparous teleost species Poecilia reticulata (guppy).

Generally, in vertebrates, the first step toward fertilization is the ovulation of mature oocytes, followed by their binding to sperm cells outside of the ovary. Exceptionally, the oocytes of poeciliid fish are fertilized by sperm cells within the follicle, and the developmental embryo is subsequently released into the ovarian lumen before delivery. In the present study, we aimed to identify the factor(s) responsible for intrafollicular fertilization in a viviparous teleost species, Poecilia reticulata (guppy).

Glucose absorption activity and gene expression of sugar transporters in the trophotaenia of the viviparous teleost Xenotoca eiseni.

In viviparous reproductive systems, nutrient transfer from mother to embryo plays a critical role in the generation of offspring. Herein, we investigated the mother-to-embryo nutrient transfer machinery in the viviparous teleost Xenotoca eiseni, which belongs to the family Goodeidae. The intraovarian embryo absorbs maternal supplements via the hindgut-derived placental structure termed the trophotaenia.

An ankylosaur larynx provides insights for bird-like vocalization in non-avian dinosaurs.

A voice box (larynx) is unique for tetrapods and plays functional roles in respiration, airway protection, and vocalization. However, in birds and other reptiles, the larynx fossil is extremely rare, and the evolution of this structure remains largely unknown. Here we report the fossil larynx found in non-avian dinosaurs from ankylosaur Pinacosaurus grangeri.

Evolutionary insights from an anatomical network analysis of the hyolaryngeal apparatus in extant archosaurs (birds and crocodilians).

Adaptive radiation of archosaurs, represented by crocodilians, non-avian dinosaurs, and birds, since the Mesozoic has been studied mainly based on their major skeletal elements (skull, vertebrae, and limbs). However, little is known about the evolution of their hyolaryngeal apparatus, which is involved with feeding, respiration, and vocalization, because of poor fossil preservation and the difficulty in determining the musculoskeletal homology of the apparatus. Network analysis is a framework to quantitatively characterize the topological organization of anatomical structures for comparing structural integration and modularity regardless of ambiguous homology.

Endocytosis-mediated vitellogenin absorption and lipid metabolism in the hindgut-derived placenta of the viviparous teleost Xenotoca eiseni.

Certain viviparous animals possess mechanisms for mother-to-embryo nutrient transport during gestation. Xenotoca eiseni is one such viviparous teleost species in which the mother supplies proteins and other components to the offspring developing in the ovary. The embryo possesses trophotaenia, hindgut-derived placental structure, to receive the maternal supplement.

A new goniopholidid from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, USA: novel insight into aquatic adaptation toward modern crocodylians.

Goniopholididae is a group of basal neosuchian crocodyliforms closely related to Paralligatoridae and Eusuchia that lived during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Goniopholidids have the long, flat snout and secondary palate of modern crocodylians, the acquisition of which is regarded as a key feature in the early evolution of crocodylian body plan and their aquatic adaptation. Here, we report a new species, , with the description from the best-preserved specimen to date of Goniopholididae from Wyoming, USA.

Expression and antimicrobial activity of liver-expressed antimicrobial peptides in the ovaries of the viviparous teleost Xenotoca eiseni.

The mechanism via which the mothers of viviparous animals regulate the internal environment of pregnancy-associated organs for maintaining offspring growth is poorly understood. Environmental niches in organs contain fluid components for supporting embryonic growth; however, they may serve as nutrients for microbes. Therefore, microbial control is essential in viviparous animals to reduce the risk of infection in the ovarian lumen.

Dinosaur ichnology and sedimentology of the Chignik Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Aniakchak National Monument, southwestern Alaska; Further insights on habitat preferences of high-latitude hadrosaurs.

While there are now numerous records of dinosaurs from Cretaceous rocks around the state of Alaska, very few fossil records of terrestrial vertebrates are known from the Mesozoic rocks of the southwestern part of the state. Here we report the new discovery of extensive occurrences of dinosaur tracks from Aniakchak National Monument of the Alaska Peninsula. These tracks are in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Chignik Formation, a cyclic sequence of rocks, approximately 500-600 m thick, representing shallow marine to nearshore marine environments in the lower part and continental alluvial coastal plain environments in the upper part of the section.

Single and chronic L-serine treatments exert antidepressant-like effects in rats possibly by different means.

In the present study, the effects of both single (6 mmol L-serine/10 ml/kg orally administrated) and chronic (2% L-serine solution freely given for 28 days) treatments on depression-like behavior were evaluated in Wistar rats, representing the control, and Wistar Kyoto rats, representing an animal model of depression. Both single and chronic L-serine treatments decreased the duration of immobility, which is an index of a depressive-like state, in the forced swimming test in both strains. However, the decreases in the duration of immobility appear to be regulated differently by the different mechanisms involved in single and chronic L-serine treatments.

Central Injection of Glucose Modifies Behavior, Amino Acid and Monoamine Metabolism in Neonatal Chicks under Acute Stressful Conditions.

The effect of intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.

Comparison of centrally injected tryptophan-related substances inducing sedation in acute isolation stress-induced neonatal chicks.

In the present study, we first focused on the function of l-tryptophan (TRP) metabolites which are synthesized in different metabolic pathways, namely, the kynurenine (KYN) pathway and serotonin (5-HT) pathway during an acute isolation stress. When l-TRP metabolites were intracerebroventricularly injected on an equimolar basis (100 nmol), 5-HT induced a sedative effect in neonatal chicks. Additionally, plasma corticosterone, dopamine, 5-HT, and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentrations were increased in the diencephalon of the 5-HT treated group compared with other groups.

Orally administered whole egg demonstrates antidepressant-like effects in the forced swimming test on rats.

Objective: Several studies have reported that vegetarian diets are associated with a higher prevalence of major depression. Therefore, we hypothesised that the consumption of animal products, especially eggs, may have positive effects on mental health, especially on major depression, because a previous study reported that egg consumption produces numerous beneficial effects in humans. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of chronic whole-egg treatment on depression-like behaviours in Wistar rats, a control strain, and Wistar Kyoto rats, an animal model of depression.

Central administration of L- and D-aspartate attenuates stress behaviors by social isolation and CRF in neonatal chicks.

Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.

Effects of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, polyamines, amino acids, and weak bases (amines and ammonia) on development and ribosomal RNA synthesis in Xenopus embryos.

We have been studying control mechanisms of gene expression in early embryogenesis in a South African clawed toad Xenopus laevis, especially during the period of midblastula transition (MBT), or the transition from the phase of active cell division (cleavage stage) to the phase of extensive morphogenesis (post-blastular stages). We first found that ribosomal RNA synthesis is initiated shortly after MBT in Xenopus embryos and those weak bases, such as amines and ammonium ion, selectively inhibit the initiation and subsequent activation of rRNA synthesis. We then found that rapidly labeled heterogeneous mRNA-like RNA is synthesized in embryos at pre-MBT stage.