Anatomical integration of the sacral-hindlimb unit coordinated by GDF11 underlies variation in hindlimb positioning in tetrapods.

Elucidating how body parts from different primordia are integrated during development is essential for understanding the nature of morphological evolution. In tetrapod evolution, while the position of the hindlimb has diversified along with the vertebral formula, the mechanism responsible for this coordination has not been well understood. However, this synchronization suggests the presence of an evolutionarily conserved developmental mechanism that coordinates the positioning of the hindlimb skeleton derived from the lateral plate mesoderm with that of the sacral vertebrae derived from the somites.

Efficient harvesting methods for early-stage snake and turtle embryos.

Reptile development is an intriguing research target for understating the unique morphogenesis of reptiles as well as the evolution of vertebrates. However, there are numerous difficulties associated with studying development in reptiles. The number of available reptile eggs is usually quite limited.

Efficient embryonic culture method for the Japanese striped snake, Elaphe quadrivirgata, and its early developmental stages.

The morphogenesis of snake embryos is an elusive yet fascinating research target for developmental biologists. However, few data exist on development of early snake embryo due to limited availability of pregnant snakes, and the need to harvest early stage embryos directly from pregnant snakes before oviposition without knowing the date of fertilization. We established an ex vivo culture method for early snake embryos using the Japanese striped snake, Elaphe quadrivirgata.

Identification and characterization of TcCRP1, a pollen tube attractant from Torenia concolor.

Background And Aims: During sexual reproduction in higher angiosperms, the pollen tubes are directed to the ovules in the pistil to deliver sperm cells. This pollen tube attraction is highly species specific, and a group of small secreted proteins, TfCRPs, are necessary for this process in Torenia fournieri.

Methods: A candidate pollen tube attractant protein in Torenia concolor, a related species of T.

Differences in adipocytokines and fatty acid composition between two adipocyte fractions of small and large cells in high-fat diet-induced obese mice.

Objective: This study was conducted to compare the differences in adipocytokines and fatty acid composition between two fraction sizes of small and large cells from subcutaneous and visceral fat of mice receiving a high-fat diet (HFD).

Methods: Body weight, blood glucose and cholesterol levels, and adipocyte diameter distribution were examined. Total adipocyte fractions could be separated into the small-cell fraction (SCF) and the large-cell fraction (LCF).

Fatty acids but not dexamethasone are essential inducers for chick adipocyte differentiation in vitro.

The present study was carried out to clarify the direct effect of fatty acids (FAs) on chick (Gallus gallus) adipocyte differentiation in the absence of dexmethasone (DEX), a commonly used as strong inducer for adipocyte differentiation. Adipocyte differentiation was initiated by maintaining confluent cell in serum-free medium supplemented with FAs. Upon exposure to FAs, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity (GPDH) as adipocyte differentiation marker rapidly increased, and was significantly higher in chick adipocyte than in control cell.

Mature adipocyte-derived dedifferentiated fat cells exhibit multilineage potential.

When mature adipocytes are subjected to an in vitro dedifferentiation strategy referred to as ceiling culture, these mature adipocytes can revert to a more primitive phenotype and gain cell proliferative ability. We refer to these cells as dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cells. In the present study, we examined the multilineage differentiation potential of DFAT cells.