Estimation of additive and non-additive genetic variance component for growth traits in Adani goats.

Non-additive genetic effects are important to increase the accuracy of estimating genetic parameters for growth traits. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters and variance components, specially dominance and epistasis genetic effects, for growth traits (birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), 3 (W3), 6 (W6), 9 (W9), and 12 (W12) month weight) in Adani goats. Analyses were carried out using Bayesian method via Gibbs sampler animal model by fitting of 18 different models.

Optimal doses of EGF and GDNF act as biological response modifiers to improve porcine oocyte maturation and quality.

It is well documented that both epidermal growth factor (EGF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) are critical for porcine oocyte maturation, however, little information is known about their mechanism of action in vitro. To gain insight into the mechanisms of action of the optimum doses of EGF and GDNF on porcine oocyte maturation, porcine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were matured in defined porcine oocyte medium supplemented with EGF, GDNF or a combination of both at varying concentrations (0-100 ng/ml) for 44 h. Nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation were determined in terms of nuclear stage after DNA staining with Hoechst and cortical granule distribution after lectin labeling, respectively.

Combination effects of epidermal growth factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor on the in vitro developmental potential of porcine oocytes.

The developmental potential of in vitro matured porcine oocytes is still lower than that of oocytes matured and fertilized in vivo. Major problems that account for the lower efficiency of in vitro production include the improper nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of oocytes. With the aim of improving this issue, the single and combined effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on oocyte developmental competence were investigated.

Paternal breed effects on expression of IGF-II, BAK1 and BCL2-L1 in bovine preimplantation embryos.

The effects of the paternal breed on early embryo and later pre- and postnatal development are well documented. Several recent studies have suggested that such paternal effects may be mediated by the paternally induced epigenetic modifications during early embryogenesis. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the paternal breed on the early embryonic development and relative expression of the maternally imprinted gene, IGF-II, and the apoptosis-related genes BAK1 and BCL2-L1 in in vitro produced (IVP) bovine embryos derived from two unrelated paternal breeds (Holstein and Brown Swiss).

Insulin-like growth factor 2: a modulator of anti-apoptosis related genes (HSP70, BCL2-L1) in bovine preimplantation embryos.

Intrinsic defects within the embryos, reflected by elevated cell death and low proliferative ability, are considered the most critical factors associated with bovine infertility. The identification of embryonic factors, which are responsible for successful embryo development, is thus critical in designing strategies for infertility intervention. In this experiment, the possible mechanisms involved in both blastomere proliferation and regulation of cell death were studied by analysis of relative expression patterns of IGF-II, BCL2-L1, BAK1, and HSP70 in 3 classes of morphological quality groups (e.