NO is necessary and sufficient for egg activation at fertilization

The early steps that lead to the rise in calcium and egg activation at fertilization are unknown but of great interest--particularly with the advent of in vitro fertilization techniques for treating male infertility and whole-animal cloning by nuclear transfer. This calcium rise is required for egg activation and the subsequent events of development in eggs of all species. Injection of intact sperm or sperm extracts can activate eggs, suggesting that sperm-derived factors may be involved. Here we show that nitric oxide synthase is present at high concentration and active in sperm after activation by the acrosome reaction. An increase in nitrosation within eggs is evident seconds after insemination and precedes the calcium pulse of fertilization. Microinjection of nitric oxide donors or recombinant nitric oxide synthase recapitulates events of egg activation, whereas prior injection of oxyhaemoglobin, a physiological nitric oxide scavenger, prevents egg activation after fertilization. We conclude that nitric oxide synthase and nitric-oxide-related bioactivity satisfy the primary criteria of an egg activator: they are present in an appropriate place, active at an appropriate time, and are necessary and sufficient for successful fertilization.     

冷藏雄鼠尸体应用于小鼠运输及意外死亡后品系恢复的可行性

目的 基于小鼠尸体4 ℃冷藏不同时长后精子的体外受精(IVF)效率,探讨低温冷藏小鼠尸体应用于小鼠运输及意外死亡后品系恢复的可行性。方法 实验组为5月龄C57BL/6 J雄鼠,脱颈处死后4 ℃冷藏24、48、72 h和96 h,取附睾尾精子IVF,对照组为正常5月龄C57BL/6 J雄鼠IVF,统计各组IVF受精率。结果 冷藏24 h后附睾尾精子具备正常受精能力,受精率为73.0%、60.0%和77.0%;48 h 组内差异大,受精率为0%、55.4%和3.2%;72 h受精率极低,受精率为3.2%、0%和1.7%;96 h 精子有活力,但无受精能力。所有受精卵均可发育至2细胞,冷藏24 h组和对照组分别移植受体妊娠率分别为60%和66%,证明4 ℃冷藏对胚胎发育无影响。结论 C57BL/6J鼠经4 ℃冷藏的附睾尾,在24 h内具备稳定的受精率,可用于小鼠运输及特殊情况品系恢复。     

Crucial function of histone lysine methylation in plant reproduction

Unlike animals, plants do not set aside germ cells early in development. In angiosperm species, reproduction occurs in the adult plant upon flowering. The multicellular male and female gametophytes differentiate from meiotic products within reproductive floral organs. Double fertilization is another remarkable feature of most angiosperm species. The zygote derived from fertilization of the egg cell by one of the sperm cells and the endosperm from fertilization of the central cell by the second sperm cell develop in a coordinated manner together and enclosed in the sporophytic maternal integuments, forming the seed. Understanding plant reproduction is biologically pertinent and agronomically and ecologically important. Here, we describe the known functions of histone lysine methylations in various steps of reproduction in the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana. It is emerging that histone lysine methylation is key for understanding epigenetic regulation networks of genome function.     

Delayed activation of the paternal genome during seed development

Little is known about the timing of the maternal-to-zygotic transition during seed development in flowering plants. Because plant embryos can develop from somatic cells or microspores, maternal contributions are not considered to be crucial in early embryogensis. Early-acting embryo-lethal mutants in Arabidopsis, including emb30/gnom which affects the first zygotic division, have fuelled the perception that both maternal and paternal genomes are active immediately after fertilization. Here we show that none of the paternally inherited alleles of 20 loci that we tested is expressed during early seed development in Arabidopsis. For genes that are expressed at later stages, the paternally inherited allele becomes active three to four days after fertilization. The genes that we tested are involved in various processes and distributed throughout the genome, indicating that most, if not all, of the paternal genome may be initially silenced. Our findings are corroborated by genetic studies showing that emb30/gnom has a maternal-effect phenotype that is paternally rescuable in addition to its zygotic lethality. Thus, contrary to previous interpretations, early embryo and endosperm development are mainly under maternal control.     

膜荚黄芪的胚胎学研究

膜荚黄芪花药壁的发育属单子叶型,腺质绒毡层,单核.小孢子母细胞减数分裂为同时型,小孢子四分体为四面体型,二细胞花粉;弯生胚珠,双珠被,厚珠心.大孢子四分体直线排列,合点端第一个大孢子有功能.蓼型胚囊;受精作用属有丝分裂前配子融合类型;核型胚乳,具胚乳吸器.胚的发育为柳叶菜型,具发达的胚柄.     

小麦异源2号、中国春与球茎大麦远缘杂交的受精和早期胚胎发育

用石蜡切片法，对普通小麦（Ｔｒｉｔｉｃｕｍ ａｅｓｔｉｖｕｍ Ｌ．）异源２ 号、中国春与球茎大麦（Ｈｏｒｄｅｕｍ ｂｕｌｂｏｓｕｍ Ｌ．）远缘杂交受精过程和早期胚胎发育进行了比较观察．实验表明，仅具１对Ｋｒ基因的异源２ 号和具３ 对Ｋｒ基因的中国春与球茎大麦杂交，其受精和胚胎发育存在着明显的差异．为小麦与球茎大麦远缘杂交提供了细胞胚胎学证据．     

同型孢子蕨类植物卵发生和受精作用的细胞学研究新进展

阐述了同型孢子蕨类植物有性生殖研究中卵发生和受精作用研究的一些新进展,包括颈卵器的形成、卵发育和受精作用3个方面．研究表明颈卵器来自于配子体生长点下方的原始细胞,其细胞质浓,核较大,位于细胞中央,原始细胞经2次分裂产生3层细胞,中间的为初生细胞,初生细胞经2次不等分裂形成1个卵细胞、1个腹沟细胞和1个双核颈沟细胞．卵成熟时,先后在卵细胞外产生分离腔和卵膜,进化的种类卵膜上形成了受精孔,首次证明腹沟细胞参与了受精孔的发生．受精作用研究表明精子是经受精孔钻入卵细胞的,受精时卵细胞剧烈地收缩和产生大的囊泡封阻受精孔可能是阻止多精受精的主要原因,接下来,受精卵经历核融合、雄细胞器的消化,合子细胞器的重排,质膜和细胞壁重建等过程,最终形成功能性合子．     

朴树的受精作用及胚、胚乳的发育

本文对朴树(Celtis sinensis Pers.)的受精作用及胚与胚乳的发育进行了一些观察,主要结果如下:1.朴树花杂性,具两性花及雄花,两性花中雌雄蕊异熟,因而保证了同株异花传粉,珠孔受精。2.双受精过程属有丝分裂前配子融合类型。授粉后10d左右,雌、雄性核发生融合,精核与极核或次生核←的融合早于精核与印核的融合。3.初生胚乳核休眠10d后发生第一次有丝分裂,合子休眠20d后才进行第一次分裂。合子在休眠过程中极性发生逆转。4.核型胚乳。胚乳具约200个游离核时以自由生长的细胞壁的方式细胞化。茄型胚胎发育。胚乳在胚的发育过程中被吸收消失。     

中国鲎受精前后卵子中蛋白质变化的研究

利用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳技术研究了中国鲎受精前后卵子中蛋白质的变化。结论是：受精使卵中蛋白质种类减少;随着受精卵生长发育,蛋白质种类逐渐增加,至囊胚期（受精后１２天）超过未受精卵。由此可见：早期的胚胎发育主要靠母体ｍＲＮＡ及蛋白质;囊胚期后,胚胎基因组活化,合成大量新蛋白质。     

Gene silencing: maturation of mouse fetal germ cells in vitro

Nuclear reprogramming is essential during gametogenesis for the production of totipotent zygotes. Here we show that premeiotic female germ cells derived from mouse fetuses as early as 12.5 days post coitum are able to complete meiosis and genomic imprinting in vitro and that these matured oocytes are highly competent in supporting development to full term after nuclear transfer and in vitro fertilization. To our knowledge, this is the first time that complete oogenesis has been successfully accomplished in vitro.     

A Middle Triassic stem-neopterygian fish from China sheds new light on the peltopleuriform phylogeny and internal fertilization

Internal fertilization and viviparity are easily observed and well studied in living neopterygian fishes (14 teleostean families), but they are difficult to identify in extinct taxa due to the limitation of the fossil record. The Peltopleuriformes from the Middle to Late Triassic of Europe and South China are a stem group of Neopterygii that may have first evolved internal fertilization and viviparity in this clade because they show a highly modified anal fin in presumed males resembling the intromittent organ in living viviparous teleosts. Until recently, Peltopleurus lissocephalus and P. rugosus from the Ladinian/Anisian boundary (~242 Ma) of Monte San Giorgio area in Switzerland and Italy represent the oldest record of Peltopleuriformes, and the phylogenetic interrelationships of this group remain controversial. Here, we report the discovery of a new peltopleuriform, Peltopleurus nitidus sp. nov., based on eleven well-preserved specimens from the early Middle Triassic (Pelsonian, Anisian, ~244 Ma) of Luoping, eastern Yunnan, China. The discovery documents the oldest convincing peltopleuriform, extending the geological range of this clade by proximately two million years. Results of the phylogenetic analysis recover P. nitidus at the base of Peltopleuridae, and provide robust support for the sister-group relationships of Peltopleuridae with Thoracopteridae within the Peltopleuriformes. The male anal fin of P. nitidus shows a primitive condition unknown in other peltopleuriforms. Comparative studies of the male anal fin in P. nitidus and other peltopleuriforms shed new light on the internal fertilization in this group.     

杉木Cunninghamia 1anceolata( Lamb.)Hook.开花结籽的解剖学观察

<正>本文用光学显微镜观察了杉木从花芽分化到种子形成过程中的解剖学特征。观察结果: 1.杉木从花芽分化到种子形成约需经过十四个月的时间,其中必须经过越冬。在南京地区杉木花芽通常在八月开始分化,翌年三月底或四月初开花传粉,六月中旬受精,九月胚胎发育完成,十月种子成熟。 2.杉木的小孢子量多质高,成熟期较一致,因此,在花期辅以人工授粉,可以大大提高杉木种子的质量。 3.杉木胚胎发育过程中出现裂生多胚与简单多胚两种多胚现象。 文内列有杉木开花结籽时间表(见表1) 杉木是裸子植物。为我国南方特有的主要造林树种,也是一种优美的观赏树种。杉木具有生长快、材质好、用途广、产量高等优良特性,出材量约占全国木材的总产量的四分之一至五分之一。因此,系统地搞清楚杉木个体发育的解剖学特征,有利于了解杉木生长发育的特性,从而可为杉木的良种繁育、速生丰产提供必要的植物学理论依据;同时也为植物学教材积累资料,以供有关林业生产、科研与教学单位参考。     

In vitro fertilization: BMA reports on ethics

A summary is provided of the interim ethical guidelines on human in vitro fertilization and embryo replacement issued in May by the British Medical Association. The guidelines approve the therapeutic use of the new techniques. Like the provisional guidelines published last year by the Medical Research Council, they also endorse research on early embryos if the goal of such research is clearly defined and clinically relevant.     

芒苞草(Acanthochlamys bracteata P.C.kao)形态学和胚胎学研究 Ⅲ.双受精,胚乳发育和胚胎发生的研究

芒苞草(Acanthochlamys bracteata)为珠孔受精,进人胚囊的二个精子分别与卵细胞和中央细胞的次生核进行正常的双受精,其受精作用属有丝分裂前型.受精后的初生胚乳核立即分裂,其发育方式为核型。合子休眠期较长,胚胎发育过程中基细胞有两种分裂方式。也观察了在以上发育过程中蛋白质与淀粉粒的积累与消失。     

Outbred embryos rescue inbred half-siblings in mixed-paternity broods of live-bearing females

Females commonly mate with more than one male, and polyandry has been shown to increase reproductive success in many species. Insemination by multiple males shifts the arena for sexual selection from the external environment to the female reproductive tract, where sperm competition or female choice of sperm could bias fertilization against sperm from genetically inferior or genetically incompatible males. Evidence that polyandry can be a strategy for avoiding incompatibility comes from studies showing that inbreeding cost is reduced in some egg-laying species by postcopulatory mechanisms that favour fertilization by sperm from unrelated males. In viviparous (live-bearing) species, inbreeding not only reduces offspring genetic quality but might also disrupt feto-maternal interactions that are crucial for normal embryonic development. Here we show that polyandry in viviparous pseudoscorpions reduces inbreeding cost not through paternity-biasing mechanisms favouring outbred offspring, but rather because outbred embryos exert a rescuing effect on inbred half-siblings in mixed-paternity broods. The benefits of polyandry may thus be more complex for live-bearing females than for females that lay eggs.     

龟足（Pollicipes mitella）的胚胎发育

本文详细描述了龟足（Ｐｏｌｌｉｃｉｐｅｓｍｉｔｅｌｌａｌｉｎｎａｅｕｓ１７５８）从受精卵至孵化成无节幼虫的发育过程。卵细胞的两次成熟分裂是在受精后才先后完成，卵裂为螺旋形卵裂，若水温为２９～３１℃，从受精至孵化约需８～１５天。     

Behavioural ecology: transient sexual mimicry leads to fertilization

Sexual mimicry among animals is widespread, but does it impart a fertilization advantage in the widely accepted 'sneak-guard' model of sperm competition? Here we describe field results in which a dramatic facultative switch in sexual phenotype by sneaker-male cuttlefish leads to immediate fertilization success, even in the presence of the consort male. These results are surprising, given the high rate at which females reject copulation attempts by males, the strong mate-guarding behaviour of consort males, and the high level of sperm competition in this complex mating system.     

体外受精过程中多精受精发生机制

对哺乳动物体外受精（IVF）过程中多精受精的发生原因进行了阐述，指出多精受精的发生是影响各种哺乳动物体外受精效率的重要原因，其中在猪和人的IVF中表现得尤为突出。大量研究表明，除了物种的特异性以外，不完全的卵母细胞胞质成熟、异常透明带、高精子浓度、受精培养基中不适当的添加物以及在受精过程中的其他一些异常因素都与多精受精密切相关。     

MSG is involved in sperm gelatinolytic activity in the prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Proteases in male reproductive tract are considered to play key roles in fertilization processes.In contrast to mammals,there are limited data concerning crustacean sperm proteases.We previously identified a novel sperm gelatinase(MSG) from Macrobrachium rosenbergii that was inhibited by a male reproduction-related Kazal-type protease inhibitor(MRPINK) specifically.In the present study,MSG was found to be distributed on the vas deferens and terminal ampullae by Western blot.Immunohistochemical analyses revealed that MSG was expressed in secretory epithelial cells and sperm distributed mainly at the base zone.RNA interference(RNAi) mediated knock-down of MSG resulted in a marked loss of sperm gelatinolytic activity.Taken together,the results show that MSG is closely linked to and probably involved in the fertilization process.