Mechanical Perspective on Increasing Brush Cytology Yield.

Brush cytology is a sampling technique extensively used for mucosal surfaces, particularly to identify malignancies. A sample is obtained by rubbing the brush bristles over the stricture or lesion several times until cells are trapped. Brush cytology detection rate varies, with malignancy confirmed in 15-65% of cases of adenocarcinoma-associated biliary strictures and 44-80% of cases of cholangiocarcinoma.

Parental effects on offspring sex ratio in the Numbat (): does captivity influence paternal sex allocation?

Sex allocation theories predict that under different ecological conditions the production of sons and daughters will affect parental fitness differently. Skewed offspring sex ratios often occur under captive conditions where individuals are exposed to nutritional and social conditions that differ from nature. Here, we analyzed 29 years of offspring sex ratio data from a captive population of an endangered marsupial, the Numbat ().

Intergenerational response to sperm competition risk in an invasive mammal.

Studies of socially mediated phenotypic plasticity have demonstrated adaptive male responses to the 'competitive' environment. Despite this, whether variation in the paternal social environment also influences offspring reproductive potential in an intergenerational context has not yet been examined. Here, we studied the descendants of wild-caught house mice, a destructive pest species worldwide, to address this knowledge gap.

The spatial and temporal distribution of females influence the evolution of testes size in Australian rodents.

Male-male competition after mating (sperm competition) favours adaptations in male traits, such as elevated sperm numbers facilitated by larger testes. Ultimately, patterns of female distribution will affect the strength of sperm competition by dictating the extent to which males are able to prevent female remating. Despite this, our understanding of how the spatial and temporal distributions of mating opportunities have shaped the evolutionary course of sperm competition is limited.

Evolutionary, proteomic, and experimental investigations suggest the extracellular matrix of cumulus cells mediates fertilization outcomes†.

Studies of fertilization biology often focus on sperm and egg interactions. However, before gametes interact, mammalian sperm must pass through the cumulus layer; in mice, this consists of several thousand cells tightly glued together with hyaluronic acid and other proteins. To better understand the role of cumulus cells and their extracellular matrix, we perform proteomic experiments on cumulus oophorus complexes (COCs) in house mice (Mus musculus), producing over 24,000 mass spectra to identify 711 proteins.