The Male Fetal Biomarker INSL3 Reveals Substantial Hormone Exchange between Fetuses in Early Pig Gestation.

The peptide hormone INSL3 is uniquely produced by the fetal testis to promote the transabdominal phase of testicular descent. Because it is fetal sex specific, and is present in only very low amounts in the maternal circulation, INSL3 acts as an ideal biomarker with which to monitor the movement of fetal hormones within the pregnant uterus of a polytocous species, the pig. INSL3 production by the fetal testis begins at around GD30.

Relationships between intramuscular fat content, selected carcass traits, and fatty acid profile in bulls using a F2-population.

The quality and nutritional value of beef is related to the amount of intramuscular fat (IMF) as well as to its fatty acid composition. In this study the relations between the IMF content and the total fatty acid composition, the fatty acids (FA) of triacylglycerols (TG) and the FA of phospholipids (PL) in longissimus muscle of F(2) Charolais×German Holstein crossbred bulls have been analysed. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, C18:2n-6; C18:3n-3) and stearic acid (C18:0) are strongly positively correlated to IMF in longissimus muscle at the quantitative level (mg/100g fresh tissue), but there are negative correlation coefficients for the relative proportion of these fatty acids to IMF.

Porcine plasma as polyphosphate and caseinate replacer in frankfurters.

The aim was to replace polyphosphate and caseinate by porcine blood plasma as functional ingredients in frankfurters. Three trials, each consisting of one control, formulated with caseinate and tripolyphosphate, and one test, formulated with plasma, were carried out in a pilot plant. The frankfurters with plasma were compared to their respective controls by determining the composition, water holding capacity, cooking losses, internal colour, texture, microstructure, sensorial characteristics, and overall acceptance.

The special systems biology of the sperm.

Spermatozoa represent a highly specialized cell type, with a minimalist structure designed to fulfil a single principal function: the transport of an intact single-copy haploid genome to the site of fertilization in the oviduct, and consequent zygote formation. They have lost most of their original cytoplasm, and remaining organelles are extremely modified. One result of this is that biochemical dynamics are restricted by a lack of cytoplasmic diffusion and a dramatic compartmentalization, with an increased emphasis on the physicochemical modulation of membranes.

How do n-3 fatty acid (short-time restricted vs unrestricted) and n-6 fatty acid enriched diets affect the fatty acid profile in different tissues of German Simmental bulls?

This study investigated the effect of n-6 (control group) and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) supply (treatment group unrestricted) and a short-time feed restriction for n-3 PUFA supply (treatment group restricted) on intramuscular fat content and the total fatty acid composition in different tissues (muscle, subcutaneous fat, liver, serum and erythrocytes) and lipid classes of intramuscular fat of German Simmental bulls (n=25). Exogenous n-3 PUFA caused a higher concentration of the sum of all single n-3 and n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC PUFA) in all analysed tissues. Feed restriction compared to control feeding induced a significant decrease of C18:1cis-9 in the phospholipid fraction of longissimus muscle and in subcutaneous fat.