The Centriolar Adjunct⁻Appearance and Disassembly in Spermiogenesis and the Potential Impact on Fertility.

During spermiogenesis, the proximal centriole forms a special microtubular structure: the centriolar adjunct. This structure appears at the spermatid stage, which is characterized by a condensed chromatin nucleus. We showed that the centriolar adjunct disappears completely in mature porcine spermatozoa.

Placental structure and function in different breeds in horses.

Ponies and sometimes draft horses are often used as experimental models for horses although size and metabolic parameters are known to vary between horse breeds. So far, there is little information about differences of placental structure and no information about differences of placental function between breeds. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in placental size, structure and function at birth in relation to foal size and weight in ponies, Saddlebred and draft horses.

Micropollutants and chemical residues in organic and conventional meat.

The chemical contamination levels of both conventional and organic meats were assessed. The objective was to provide occurrence data in a context of chronic exposure. Environmental contaminants (17 polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/dibenzofurans, 18 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 3 hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) isomers, 6 mycotoxins, 6 inorganic compounds) together with chemical residues arising from production inputs (75 antimicrobials, 10 coccidiostats and 121 pesticides) have been selected as relevant compounds.

Solid-phase microextraction set-up for the analysis of liver volatolome to detect livestock exposure to micropollutants.

Starting from a critical analysis of a first "proof of concept" study on the utility of the liver volatolome for detecting livestock exposure to environmental micropollutants (Berge et al., 2011), the primary aim of this paper is to improve extraction conditions so as to obtain more representative extracts by using an extraction temperature closer to livestock physiological conditions while minimizing analytical variability and maximizing Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) abundancies. Levers related to extraction conditions and sample preparation were assessed in the light of both abundance and coefficient of variation of 22 candidate VOC markers identified in earlier volatolomic studies.

Adaptive emotional memory: the key hippocampal-amygdalar interaction.

For centuries philosophical and clinical studies have emphasized a fundamental dichotomy between emotion and cognition, as, for instance, between behavioral/emotional memory and explicit/representative memory. However, the last few decades cognitive neuroscience have highlighted data indicating that emotion and cognition, as well as their underlying neural networks, are in fact in close interaction. First, it turns out that emotion can serve cognition, as exemplified by its critical contribution to decision-making or to the enhancement of episodic memory.

Timing associated with oviductal sperm storage and release after artificial insemination in domestic hens.

Female birds store sperm in sperm storage tubules (SSTs) in the uterovaginal junction of their reproductive tract for days or weeks (depending on species) before fertilization. Sperm are transported from the SSTs to the infundibulum where fertilization occurs immediately after ovulation of each ovum. The timing of sperm release from the SSTs relative to ovulation is unknown for any bird.

Eimeria involved in a case of coccidiosis in farmed red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) in France: oocyst isolation and gross lesion description after experimental infection.

The aim of the present work was, after a coccidiosis outbreak in a farm rearing red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) in Brittany (France), to identify the Eimeria species and describe gross lesions induced by three of them (Eimeria kofoidi, Eimeria caucasica and Eimeria legionensis) after experimental infection. E. kofoidi oocysts measured 19.

Functional characterization of polymorphic variants for ovine MT1 melatonin receptors: possible implication for seasonal reproduction in sheep.

In seasonal breeding species, the gene encoding for the melatonin MT(1) receptor (oMT(1)) is highly polymorphic and numerous data have reported the existence of an association between an allele of the receptor and a marked expression of the seasonality of reproduction in ewes. This allele called "m" (previously named "-" allele) carries a mutation leading to the absence of a MnlI restriction site as opposed to the "M" allele (previously named "+" allele) carrying the MnlI restriction site (previously "+" allele). This allows the determination of the three genotypes "M/M" (+/+), "M/m" (+/-) and "m/m" (-/-).

Gene array analysis of adrenal glands in broiler chickens following ACTH treatment.

Background: Difference in adaptability responses to stress has been observed amongst bird species, strains, and individuals. Components of the HPA axis, one of the internal systems involved in homeostasis re-establishment following stress, could play a role in this variability of responses. The aim of the present study was 1) to identify genes involved in the regulation of adrenal activity following ACTH stimulation and 2) to examine adrenal genes differentially expressed in individuals with high and low plasma corticosterone response following ACTH treatment.

Sequential feeding with variations in energy and protein levels improves gait score in meat-type chickens.

Feeding broilers by alternating different diets for 1 or 2 days is known as sequential feeding, and it possibly reduces leg problems since it slows down early growth and may enhance general activity. The present study compared continuous feeding with a standard diet (C: metabolisable energy = 12.55 MJ/kg, crude protein = 190 g/kg) with alternations of a high-energy/low-protein diet (E+P-:+7% ME; -20% CP) and a low-energy/high-protein diet (E-P+: -7% ME,+20% CP) and investigated its effects on growth, behaviour and gait score in 352 male Ross broiler chickens.

Acute infection by conjunctival route with Brucella melitensis induces IgG+ cells and IFN-gamma producing cells in peripheral and mucosal lymph nodes in sheep.

The early distribution of Brucella melitensis and the immune response induced in lymphoid tissues and lymph nodes (LN) draining the upper respiratory tract were analysed in sheep. An experimental acute infection was performed by inoculating the sheep with the virulent H38 strain of B. melitensis by the conjunctival route.

Genetic differences in coping strategies in response to prolonged and repeated restraint in Japanese quail divergently selected for long or short tonic immobility.

Exposure to fearful situations elicits behavioral and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis responses characteristic of the coping response of individual animals to counteract environmental challenges. The aim of this study was to investigate behavioral and corticotropic responses concomitantly following prolonged or repeated restraint stress by placing two genotypes of Japanese quail divergently selected for long (LTI) or short (STI) duration of tonic immobility (TI) in a crush cage. In our study, STI quail exhibited higher corticosterone (CORT) levels than LTI quail in response to prolonged restraint.

Differential expression of iutA and ibeA in the early stages of infection by extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli.

Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strains are responsible for a number of infections in humans and animals. Several ExPEC virulence genes have already been described such as iutA involved in iron acquisition and ibeA required for invasion of eukaryotic cells. In this study we used the chicken model to study the expression of iutA and ibeA by two ExPEC strains during growth of bacteria in LB medium and during the infection.

To delay once or twice: the effect of hypobiosis and free-living stages on the stability of host-parasite interactions.

The life cycle of many endoparasites can be delayed by free-living infective stages and a developmental arrestment in the host referred to as hypobiosis. We investigated the effects of hypobiosis and its interaction with delay in the free-living stages on host-parasite population dynamics by expanding a previous attempt by Dobson & Hudson. When the parasite life cycle does not include free-living stages, hypobiosis destabilizes the host-parasite interactions, irrespective of the assumptions about the regulation of the host population dynamics.

Lipopentapeptide induces a strong host humoral response and distinguishes Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis from M. avium subsp. avium.

Background: Many non-tuberculous mycobacteria synthesize abundant glycopeptidolipids (GPLs). These surface-located GPLs are involved in pathogenicity by interfering with the host immune system. In Mycobacterium avium subsp.

Changes in Heart Rate Variability during a tonic immobility test in quail.

Tonic immobility (TI) is an unlearned fear response induced by a brief physical restraint and characterized by a marked autonomic nervous system involvement. This experiment aimed at studying the relative involvement of both autonomic sub-systems, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, during TI, by analyzing Heart Rate Variability. Quail selected genetically for long (LTI) or short (STI) TI duration and quail from a control line (CTI) were used.

Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strains of avian and human origin: link between phylogenetic relationships and common virulence patterns.

Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) strains of human and avian origin show similarities that suggest that the avian strains potentially have zoonotic properties. However, the phylogenetic relationships between avian and human ExPEC strains are poorly documented, so this possibility is difficult to assess. We used PCR-based phylotyping and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to determine the phylogenetic relationships between 39 avian pathogenic E.

Characterization of CRF, AVT, and ACTH cDNA and pituitary-adrenal axis function in Japanese quail divergently selected for tonic immobility.

Higher corticosterone (CORT) responses to acute stress have previously been reported in quail selected for short (STI) duration of tonic immobility (TI) than for long TI (LTI), although behavioral studies indicated that LTI quail were more fearful. To investigate adrenal and pituitary function in these quail lines and their possible involvement in the differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity, we measured CORT responses to adrenocorticotropin (1-24 ACTH), corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), and arginine vasotocin (AVT) after characterizing the nucleotide acid sequences of these peptides in quail. Although maximum adrenal responses, assessed by ACTH challenge, were higher in STI quail, adrenal sensitivity was comparable for the two genotypes.

Intensity and duration of corticosterone response to stressful situations in Japanese quail divergently selected for tonic immobility.

Two genotypes of Japanese quail have been divergently selected since the 1980s for long (LTI) or short (STI) duration of tonic immobility [Mills, A.D., Faure, J.

New variable-number tandem-repeat markers for typing Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis and M. avium strains: comparison with IS900 and IS1245 restriction fragment length polymorphism typing.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, the etiological agent of paratuberculosis, affects a wide range of domestic ruminants and has been suggested to be involved in Crohn's disease in humans. Most available methods for identifying and differentiating strains of this difficult species are technically demanding and have limited discriminatory power.

Oxidative metabolic profiles of Brucella strains isolated from marine mammals: contribution to their species classification.

Since the 1990s, Brucella strains not matching the characteristics of any of the six conventional species have been isolated worldwide from marine mammals. In this study, 31 Brucella strains isolated from various marine mammals were examined for their oxidative metabolic pattern on 12 amino-acid and carbohydrate substrates. Three main oxidative profiles different from those of the Brucella terrestrial mammal strains were identified for the marine mammal strains: one gathering strains isolated from pinnipeds and two gathering strains from cetaceans.

tDNA locus polymorphism and ecto-chromosomal DNA insertion hot-spots are related to the phylogenetic group of Escherichia coli strains.

tRNA-encoding genes (tDNA) are known hot-spots for the integration of ecto-chromosomal DNA (ECDNA) including genomic islands. However, only a few loci are currently known to be targeted by such insertions in Escherichia coli. A PCR-based screening of tDNA integrity was therefore performed on a collection of E.

Mycobacterium smegmatis produces an HBHA homologue which is not involved in epithelial adherence.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis produces heparin-binding hemagglutinin (TB-HBHA), an adhesin involved in binding to non-professional phagocytes and in extrapulmonary dissemination. TB-HBHA binds sulphated glycoconjugates through its C-terminal lysine-rich domain and can be purified by heparin-Sepharose chromatography. Homologues of HBHA are found in other pathogenic mycobacteria, but previous investigations failed to demonstrate them in non-pathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis.