Arginine increases development of in vitro-produced porcine embryos and affects the protein arginine methyltransferase-dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase-nitric oxide axis.

Culture systems promote development at rates lower than the in vivo environment. Here, we evaluated the embryo's transcriptome to determine what the embryo needs during development. A previous mRNA sequencing endeavour found upregulation of solute carrier family 7 (cationic amino acid transporter, y+ system), member 1 (SLC7A1), an arginine transporter, in in vitro- compared with in vivo-cultured embryos.

Transgenic sheep generated by lentiviral vectors: safety and integration analysis of surrogates and their offspring.

The safety of HIV-1 based vectors was evaluated during the production of transgenic sheep. Vectors were introduced into the perivitelline space of in vivo derived one-cell sheep embryos by microinjection then transferred into the oviducts of recipient females. At 60-70 days of gestation, a portion of the recipients were euthanized and tissues collected from both surrogates and fetuses.

Effects of combined treatment of MG132 and scriptaid on early and term development of porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos.

Although improving, the efficiency of producing offspring by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is still low (<1.5%). Our laboratory has demonstrated that histone deacetylase inhibitor (Scriptaid) treatment of reconstructed embryos enhances blastocyst formation and cloning efficiency in pigs.

Applications of RNA interference-based gene silencing in animal agriculture.

Classical genetic selection, recently aided by genomic selection tools, has been successful in achieving remarkable progress in livestock improvement. However, genetic selection has led to decreased genetic diversity and, in some cases, acquisition of undesirable traits. In order to meet the increased demands of our expanding population, new technologies and practices must be developed that contend with zoonotic and animal disease, environmental impacts of large farming operations and the increased food and fibre production needed to feed and clothe our society.

Molecular characterization of Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii HrpY, a conserved response regulator of the Hrp type III secretion system, and its interaction with the hrpS promoter.

Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii is a bacterial pathogen of corn. Its pathogenicity depends on the translocation of effector proteins into host cells by the Hrp type III secretion system.

Identification of the DNA bases of a DNase I footprint by the use of dye primer sequencing on an automated capillary DNA analysis instrument.

We have adapted the techniques of DNA footprint analysis to an Applied Biosystems 3730 DNA Analyzer. The use of fluorescently labeled primers eliminates the need for radioactively labeled nucleotides, as well as slab gel electrophoresis, and takes advantage of commonly available automated fluorescent capillary electrophoresis instruments. With fluorescently labeled primers and dideoxynucleotide DNA sequencing, we have shown that the terminal base of each digested fragment may be accurately identified with a capillary-based instrument.