Response of Barley Genotypes to Fusarium Head Blight under Natural Infection and Artificial Inoculation Conditions.

Forty-eight spring barley genotypes were evaluated for deoxynivalenol (DON) concentration under natural infection across 5 years at Harrington, Prince Edward Island. These genotypes were also evaluated for Fusarium head blight (FHB) severity and DON concentration under field nurseries with artificial inoculation of Fusarium graminearum by the grain spawn method across 2 years at Ottawa, Ontario, and one year at Hangzhou, China. Additionally, these genotypes were also evaluated for FHB severity under greenhouse conditions with artificial inoculation of F.

Cancer classification using machine learning and HRV analysis: preliminary evidence from a pilot study.

Most cancer patients exhibit autonomic dysfunction with attenuated heart rate variability (HRV) levels compared to healthy controls. This research aimed to create and evaluate a machine learning (ML) model enabling discrimination between cancer patients and healthy controls based on 5-min-ECG recordings. We selected 12 HRV features based on previous research and compared the results between cancer patients and healthy individuals using Wilcoxon sum-rank test.

Patterns of Failure After Linear Accelerator Radiosurgery for Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations.

Background: Numerous studies have assessed the predictive factors for the arteriovenous malformation (AVM) response to stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). However, only a few have discussed the causes of failure. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the patterns of failure in patients with AVM who had undergone linear accelerator SRS.

The BOC ELISA, a ruminant-specific AMH immunoassay, improves the determination of plasma AMH concentration and its correlation with embryo production in cattle.

Plasma anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentrations have been recently found to be predictive of the number of embryos recovered after FSH superovulatory treatment in the cow. However, the sensitivity of the Active Müllerian-inhibiting substance/AMH ELISA (ref. 10-14400; DSL-Beckman-Coulter) used to make these measurements in bovine plasma samples is low because it was developed to measure human AMH levels.

Barley traits associated with resistance to fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol accumulation.

ABSTRACT Fusarium head blight (FHB) or scab is a destructive disease of barley in many countries. A better understanding of the interrelationships between plant traits and FHB resistance should help in the development of effective and efficient breeding strategies for FHB-resistant cultivars. Recent mapping studies indicate that many of the quantitative trait loci (QTL) for FHB resistance coincide with the QTL for plant height, heading date, and spike characteristics.

Foxl2 gene and the development of the ovary: a story about goat, mouse, fish and woman.

In this review, we describe recent results concerning the genetics of sex determination in mammals. Particularly, we developed the study of the FOXL2 gene and its implication in genetic anomalies in goats (PIS mutation) and humans (BPES). We present the expression of FOXL2 in the ovaries of different species.

Positional cloning of the PIS mutation in goats and its impact on understanding mammalian sex-differentiation.

In goats, the PIS (polled intersex syndrome) mutation is responsible for both the absence of horns in males and females and sex-reversal affecting exclusively XX individuals. The mode of inheritance is dominant for the polled trait and recessive for sex-reversal. In XX PIS-/- mutants, the expression of testis-specific genes is observed very precociously during gonad development.

Expression profiles and chromosomal localization of genes controlling meiosis and follicular development in the sheep ovary.

In female sheep fetuses, two of the most crucial stages of ovarian development are prophase of meiosis I and follicle formation. In the present study, sheep ovaries collected on Days 25, 38, 49, 56, 67, 75, 94, and 120 of gestation, at birth, and in adulthood were tested by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the expression of 14 genes known to be involved in the ovarian differentiation in diverse organisms. The aim of this study was to determine 1) the expression pattern of six genes involved in germ cell development or meiosis (DMC1, SPO11, MSH4, MSH5, DAZL, and Boule) and five ovary-derived factors (OVOL1, SIAH2, DIAPH2, FOXL2, and FGF9), 2) the onset of gene expression for several members of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway involved in follicular development (GDF9, BMP15, BMPR-IB), and 3) the chromosomal localization of seven of these genes in the sheep genome.

Age dependent changes in plasma anti-Müllerian hormone concentrations in the bovine male, female, and freemartin from birth to puberty: relationship between testosterone production and influence on sex differentiation.

To understand the behaviour of the gonads, in terms of hormonal secretion, in a model of intersexual development naturally occurring in mammals, we determined plasma concentrations of testosterone, progesterone, and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in bovine freemartins, and compared them to normal levels measured in males and females from birth to puberty. We found that newborn males and freemartins have very high concentrations of AMH (over 700ng/ml). Conversely, plasma AMH concentration is always below 120ng/ml in females.

Ontogenesis of female-to-male sex-reversal in XX polled goats.

The association of polledness and intersexuality in domestic goats (PIS mutation) made them a practical genetic model for studying mammalian female-to-male sex reversal. In this study, gonads from XX sex-reversed goats (PIS-/-) were thoroughly characterized at the molecular and histologic level from the first steps of gonadal differentiation (36 days post coitum [dpc]) to birth. The first histologic signs of gonadal sex reversal were detectable between 36 and 40 dpc (4-5 days later than the XY male) and were mainly characterized by the reduction of the ovarian cortex and the organization of seminiferous cords.

Contribution of domestic animals to the identification of new genes involved in sex determination.

Among farm animals, two species present an intersex condition at a relatively high frequency: pig and goat. Both are known to contain XX sex-reversed individuals which are genetically female but with a true hermaphrodite or male phenotype. It has been clearly demonstrated that the SRY gene is not involved in these phenotypes.

Time course of female-to-male sex reversal in 38,XX fetal and postnatal pigs.

In an attempt to understand the etiology of intersexuality in pigs, we thoroughly analyzed the gonads of 38,XX (SRY negative) female to male sex-reversed animals at different developmental stages: during fetal life [50 and 70 days postcoitum (dpc)], just after birth [35 days postpartum (dpp)] and during adulthood. For each animal studied, we performed parallel histological and ultrastructural analyses on one gonad and RT-PCR analysis on the other gonad in order to define the expression profiles of sexually regulated genes: SOX9, 3beta-HSD, P450 aromatase, AMH, FOXL2, and Wnt4. Light and electron microscopic examination showed that testicular cords differentiated in XX sex-reversed gonads but were hypoplastic.

A 11.7-kb deletion triggers intersexuality and polledness in goats.

Mammalian sex determination is governed by the presence of the sex determining region Y gene (SRY) on the Y chromosome. Familial cases of SRY-negative XX sex reversal are rare in humans, often hampering the discovery of new sex-determining genes. The mouse model is also insufficient to correctly apprehend the sex-determination cascade, as the human pathway is much more sensitive to gene dosage.

Pre-harvest accumulation of deoxynivalenol in sweet corn ears inoculated with Fusarium graminearum.

Three types of commercial sweet corn hybrids [surgary (su1), shrunken or 'supersweet' (sh2) and surgary enhancer (se1)] were silk channel inoculated in 1996 and 1997 with a macroconidial suspension of Fusarium graminearum to determine how early the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol accumulates in kernels. Disease symptoms rapidly developed on all hybrids and were apparent 4 days after inoculation. Symptoms stabilized by 28 days after inoculation.

Effect of anti-Mullerian hormone on Sertoli and Leydig cell functions in fetal and immature rats.

Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is mainly involved in the regression of Mullerian ducts in male fetuses, but it may have other functions linked to gonadal development. The present study examines the effect of AMH on steroidogenesis by Sertoli and Leydig cells in fetal and immature rats during the period where AMH is physiologically produced in the testis. The basal aromatase activity of Sertoli cells in primary culture was strongly stimulated (77-91%) by cAMP.

Anti-müllerian hormone in relation to the growth and differentiation of the gubernacular primordia in mice.

The present study analysed gubernaculum development in mice that had been induced, through transgenesis, to express human anti-Müllerian hormone (h-AMH) throughout prenatal life. Growth and differentiation of the gubernacular primordia were assessed through the analysis of serial, transverse or sagittal, histological sections of the lower abdomen. Transgenic males and females expressed biologically active amounts of h-AMH as measured by sensitive and specific ELISA and evidenced through the regression, in females, of Müllerian ducts after day 13 of prenatal life.

Cloning and expression of the chick anti-Müllerian hormone gene.

Müllerian duct regression in male embryos is due to early production by fetal Sertoli cells of anti-Müllerian hormone, a homodimeric protein of the transforming growth factor- beta superfamily. In mammals, both female Müllerian ducts develop into the uterus and Fallopian tubes, whereas in birds, the right oviduct does not develop. To gain insight into sex differentiation in birds, we have cloned the cDNA for chick anti-Müllerian hormone using antibodies raised against the partially purified protein.

Ontogeny of reproductive abnormalities induced by deregulation of anti-müllerian hormone expression in transgenic mice.

Anti-müllerian hormone, normally responsible for the regression of müllerian ducts in male fetuses, induces stunting, germ cell loss, and seminiferous tubule formation in ovaries of bovine freemartin fetuses and of transgenic mice, which express the human anti müllerian hormone gene under the control of the metallothionein promoter. Because the latter have been studied only after birth, we undertook a detailed chronological study of their reproductive organs. Müllerian ducts of transgenic female fetuses regressed at the same time as those of normal or transgenic males.

Development of the gubernaculum and processus vaginalis in freemartinism: further evidence in support of a specific fetal testis hormone governing male-specific gubernacular development.

Background: Freemartinism occurs in some species of ruminants and affects most female bovine fetuses in heterosexual, multiple pregnancies owing to fusion of the chorionic blood circulations soon after implantation. Maldevelopment of the ovaries and Müllerian ducts have been described and recognized as resulting from exposure of their respective primordia to an excess of anti-Müllerian hormone. The present study aimed to analyse the prenatal growth and development of the gubernaculum in freemartins to find out its possible affliction through foetal testis hormones derived from their male co-twin.

Cloning, expression, and alternative splicing of the receptor for anti-Müllerian hormone.

Anti-Müllerian hormone, also called Müllerian-inhibiting substance or factor, is a glycoprotein dimer belonging to the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily and synthesized by immature Sertoli cells and postnatal granulosa cells. Anti-Müllerian hormone plays a key role in sex differentiation by inducing the regression of Müllerian ducts in the male fetus. It is also responsible for the stunting and masculinization of fetal ovaries in bovine freemartin fetuses and may be involved in the control of follicular maturation in the postnatal ovary.

Mullerian inhibiting substance requires its N-terminal domain for maintenance of biological activity, a novel finding within the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily.

Mullerian inhibiting substance (MIS)/anti-Mullerian hormone is a differentiation factor that causes regression of the Mullerian duct in the developing male fetus and an apparent sex reversal of the fetal ovary when inappropriately exposed to it. The purified product is a 140-kilodalton glycoprotein composed of two identical subunits. We show that a C-terminal fragment of MIS, which shares homology with transforming growth factor-beta, causes regression of the Mullerian duct and inhibits the biosynthesis of aromatase in the fetal ovary.

A quantitative and interspecific test for biological activity of anti-müllerian hormone: the fetal ovary aromatase assay.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), also known as Müllerian-inhibiting substance or factor, has previously been shown to sex-reverse the steroidogenic pattern of fetal mammalian ovaries through repression of aromatase biosynthesis. Study of the ontogeny of the response of cyclic AMP-stimulated aromatase activity of rat fetal ovaries to AMH has allowed us to develop a quantitative bioassay for the hormone. Linear responses as a function of the logarithm of AMH concentration were observed over ranges of 0.

[Anti-mullerian hormone and natural and experimental freemartin effect].

To determine whether anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is responsible for the gonadal anomalies observed in bovine female "freemartins" united by placental anastomosis to a male twin, fetal rat and ovine prospective ovaries were exposed to purified bovine AMH in organ culture. We show that AMH reproduces the caracteristical "freemartin effect"; namely the initial inhibition of gonadal and germ cell development, and the differentiation of fetal Sertoli cells forming seminiferous cord-like structures and producing immuno and bioactive AMH. In addition, fetal ovine ovaries submitted to AMH release testosterone instead of estradiol due to an inhibiting effect upon the biosynthesis of their aromatase enzyme.

Anti-Müllerian hormone produces endocrine sex reversal of fetal ovaries.

We have previously reported that anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), also known as Müllerian-inhibiting substance, the testicular glycoprotein involved in regression of the Müllerian ducts of the male fetus, induces the formation of seminiferous cord-like structures in fetal ovaries exposed to it in organ culture. We have now investigated the effect of bovine AMH, purified to homogeneity, on ovarian endocrine differentiation. Ovine fetal ovaries exposed to AMH release testosterone instead of estradiol, an endocrine sex reversal due to suppression of aromatase activity.