The First Identification of Homomorphic XY Sex Chromosomes by Integrating Cytogenetic and Transcriptomic Approaches in (Scincidae).

The sex chromosomes of skinks are usually poorly differentiated and hardly distinguished by cytogenetic methods. Therefore, identifying sex chromosomes in species lacking easily recognizable heteromorphic sex chromosomes is necessary to fully understand sex chromosome diversity. In this paper, we employed cytogenetics, sex quantification of genes, and transcriptomic approaches to characterize the sex chromosomes in .

Oviductal sperm storage in the Chinese pond turtle, , depends on androgen-based promotion of the BCL 2 anti-apoptotic pathway.

Context: Sperm storage is a complex and highly coordinated process that is regulated by a variety of factors. The BCL 2 protein family plays a key role in regulating apoptosis, and determines sperm survival.

Aims: The objective of this study was to explore the correlation between sperm storage and the BCL 2 protein family in the oviduct of Mauremys reevesii .

Sperm storage in the oviduct of the Chinese pond turtle Mauremys reevesii depends on oestrogen-based suppression of the TLR2/4 immune pathway.

The long-term storage of spermatozoa in the female reproductive tract is limited by the innate immune system. Oestrogen plays a role in regulating the innate immune system. Thus, exploring the expression of genes in the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2/4 pathway and oestrogen receptors in the oviduct of Mauremys reevesii could contribute to our understanding of the mechanism of sperm storage.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the (Anura, Ranidae).

The complete mitochondrial genome of has been sequenced and characterized in this study. The mitogenome is a circular molecule of 18 610 bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 21 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes and a non-coding D-loop region (control region). Its gene arrangements are identical to the typical neobatrachian-type except for the loss of gene.

[Molecular cloning, recombinant expression and characterization of lysozyme from Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis].

Lysozyme hydrolyses bacterial cell walls and acts as a nonspecific innate immunity molecule against the invasion of bacterial pathogens. We cloned the cDNA of lysozyme from Fenneropenaeus chinensis and named Fc-lysozyme (FcLyz in short). The full length of the gene was of 709 bp, and the open reading frame (477 bp) encoded 158 amino acids.