scholarly journals Comparison of fecundity and offspring immunity in zebrafish fed Lactobacillus rhamnosus CICC 6141 and Lactobacillus casei BL23

Reproduction ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chubin Qin ◽  
Li Xu ◽  
Yalin Yang ◽  
Suxu He ◽  
Yingying Dai ◽  
...  

To increase the knowledge of probiotic effects on zebrafish (Danio rerio), we compare the effects of two probiotic strains, Lactobacillus rhamnosus CICC 6141 (a highly adhesive strain) and Lactobacillus casei BL23 (a weakly adhesive strain), on zebrafish reproduction and their offsprings' innate level of immunity to water-borne pathogens. During probiotics treatments from 7 to 28 days, both the Lactobacillus strains, and especially L. casei BL23, significantly increased fecundity in zebrafish: higher rates of egg ovulation, fertilization, and hatching were observed. Increased densities of both small and large vitellogenic follicles, seen in specimens fed either Lactobacillus strain, demonstrated accelerated oocyte maturation. Feeding either strain of Lactobacillus upregulated gene expression of leptin, kiss2, gnrh3, fsh, lh, lhcgr, and paqr8, which were regarded to enhance fecundity and encourage oocyte maturation. Concomitantly, the gene expression of bmp15 and tgfb1 was inhibited, which code for local factors that prevent oocyte maturation. The beneficial effects of the Lactobacillus strains on fecundity diminished after feeding of the probiotics was discontinued, even for the highly adhesive gut Lactobacillus strain. Administering L. rhamnosus CICC 6141 for 28 days was found to affect the innate immunity of offspring derived from their parents, as evinced by a lower level of alkaline phosphatase activity in early larval stages. This study highlights the effects of probiotics both upon the reproductive process and upon the offsprings' immunity during early developmental stages.

Mycologia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Joneson ◽  
Daniele Armaleo ◽  
François Lutzoni

Reproduction ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 140 (6) ◽  
pp. 787-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude Robert

The rise of the ‘omics’ technologies started nearly a decade ago and, among them, transcriptomics has been used successfully to contrast gene expression in mammalian oocytes and early embryos. The scarcity of biological material that early developmental stages provide is the prime reason why the field of transcriptomics is becoming more and more popular with reproductive biologists. The potential to amplify scarce mRNA samples and generate the necessary amounts of starting material enables the relative measurement of RNA abundance of thousands of candidates simultaneously. So far, microarrays have been the most commonly used high-throughput method in this field. Microarray platforms can be found in a wide variety of formats, from cDNA collections to long or short oligo probe sets. These platforms generate large amounts of data that require the integration of comparative RNA abundance values in the physiological context of early development for their full benefit to be appreciated. Unfortunately, significant discrepancies between datasets suggest that direct comparison between studies is difficult and often not possible. We have investigated the sample-handling steps leading to the generation of microarray data produced from prehatching embryo samples and have identified key steps that significantly impact the downstream results. This review provides a discussion on the best methods for the preparation of samples from early embryos for microarray analysis and focuses on the challenges that impede dataset comparisons from different platforms and the reasons why methodological benchmarking performed using somatic cells may not apply to the atypical nature of prehatching development.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11503
Author(s):  
Renato Crespo Pereira ◽  
Daniela Bueno Sudatti ◽  
Thaise S.G. Moreira ◽  
Carlos Renato R. Ventura

To date, evidence regarding the performance of secondary metabolites from larval stages of sea stars as an anti-predation defense relates only to a few species/specimens from a few geographic ranges. Unfortunately, this hinders a comprehensive global understanding of this inter-specific predator-prey interaction. Here, we present laboratory experimental evidence of chemical defense action in the early developmental stages and adults of the sea star Echinaster (Othilia) brasiliensis from Brazil against sympatric and allopatric invertebrate consumers. Blastulae, early and late brachiolarias of E. (O.) brasiliensis were not consumed by the sympatric and allopatric crabs Mithraculus forceps. Blastulae were also avoided by the sympatric and allopatric individuals of the anemone Anemonia sargassensis, but not the larval stages. Extracts from embryos (blastula) and brachiolarias of E. (O.) brasiliensis from one sampled population (João Fernandes beach) significantly inhibited the consumption by sympatric M. forceps, but not by allopatric crabs and A. sargassensi anemone. In this same site, extracts from adults E. (O.) brasiliensis significantly inhibited the consumption by sympatric and allopatric specimens of the crab in a range of concentrations. Whereas equivalent extract concentrations of E. (O.) brasiliensis from other population (Itaipu beach)inhibited the predation by allopatric M. forceps, while sympatric individuals of this crab avoided the only the higher level tested. Then, early stages and adult specimens of E. (O.) brasiliensis can be chemically defended against consumers, but this action is quite variable, depending on the type (anemone or crab) and the origin of the consumer (sympatric or allopatric).


2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 367-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Şener Tulumoğlu ◽  
Belgin Erdem ◽  
Ömer Şimşek

Abstract This study aims to determine the effects of inulin and fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) on the probiotic properties of five Lactobacillus spp. isolated from human milk. Lactobacillus spp. were isolated and identified, and the growth characteristics, acid and bile salt tolerance, antagonistic effects, and cholesterol assimilation of Lactobacillus strains were investigated in the presence of inulin and FOS. Lactobacillus casei L1 was able to utilize inulin and FOS as carbon source as well as glucose even other strains were able to use, including Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. This strain also showed high tolerance to acid and bile salt, even at pH 2.5 and 0.5% bile salt levels, respectively. Inulin and FOS promoted the antimicrobial activity of L. casei L1 against pathogenic bacteria. Cholesterol assimilation was higher than in the other and control probiotic strains in the presence inulin and FOS, which were measured as 14 and 25 mg/dL, respectively. In conclusion, L. casei L1 can use both inulin and FOS to maintain its viability both at digestive conditions and also the relevant prebiotics, and show broad antagonistic activity and cholesterol assimilation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min R. Lu ◽  
Cheng-Kuo Lai ◽  
Ben-Yang Liao ◽  
Isheng Jason Tsai

AbstractNematodes are highly abundant animals with diverse habitats and lifestyles. Some are free-living while others parasitize animals or plants, and among the latter, infection abilities change across developmental stages to infect hosts and complete life cycles. Although parasitism has independently arisen multiple times over evolutionary history, common pressures of parasitism—such as adapting to the host environment, evading and subverting the host immune system, and changing environments across life cycles—have led phenotypes and developmental stages among parasites to converge. To determine the relationship between transcriptome evolution and morphological divergences among nematodes, we compared 48 transcriptomes of different developmental stages across eight nematode species. The transcriptomes were clustered broadly into embryo, larva, and adult stages, suggesting that gene expression is conserved to some extent across the entire nematode life cycle. Such patterns were partly accounted for by tissue-specific genes—such as those in oocytes and the hypodermis—being expressed at different proportions. Although nematodes typically have 3-5 larval stages, the transcriptomes for these stages were found to be highly correlated within each species, suggesting high similarity among larval stages across species. For the Caenorhabditis elegans-C. briggsae and Strongyloides stercoralis-S. venezuelensis comparisons, we found that around 50% of genes were expressed at multiple stages, whereas half of their orthologues were also expressed in multiple but different stages. Such frequent changes in expression have resulted in concerted transcriptome evolution across adjacent stages, thus generating species-specific transcriptomes over the course of nematode evolution. Our study provides a first insight into the evolution of nematode transcriptomes beyond embryonic development.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle K. Herrig ◽  
Kim L. Vertacnik ◽  
Anna R. Kohrs ◽  
Catherine R. Linnen

Though seemingly bizarre, the dramatic post-embryonic transformation that occurs during metamorphosis is one of the most widespread and successful developmental strategies on the planet. The adaptive decoupling hypothesis (ADH) proposes that metamorphosis is an adaptation for optimizing expression of traits across life stages that experience opposing selection pressures. Similarly, sex-biased expression of traits is thought to evolve in response to sexually antagonistic selection. Both hypotheses predict that traits will be genetically decoupled among developmental stages and sexes, but direct comparisons between stage-specific and sex-specific decoupling are rare. Additionally, tests of the ADH have been hampered by a lack of suitable traits for among-stage comparisons and by uncertainties regarding how much decoupling is to be expected. To fill these voids, we characterize transcriptome-wide patterns of gene-expression decoupling in the hypermetamorphic and sexually dimorphic insect, Neodiprion lecontei. This species has three ecologically and morphologically distinct larval stages separated by molts, as well as a complete metamorphic transition that produces dimorphic adult males and females. Consistent with the ADH, we observe that: (1) the decoupling of gene expression becomes more pronounced as the ecological demands of developmental stages become more dissimilar and (2) gene-expression traits that mediate changing ecological interactions show stronger and more variable decoupling than expression traits that are likely to experience more uniform selection. We also find that gene-expression decoupling is more pronounced among major life stages than between the sexes. Overall, our results demonstrate that patterns of gene-expression decoupling can be predicted based on gene function and organismal ecology.


1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Chivasa ◽  
James O. Berry ◽  
Tom ap Rees ◽  
John P. Carr

Thermogenesis in Arum species is induced by salicylic acid (SA) and caused by activation of the alternative respiration pathway and the alternative oxidase (AOX), resulting in heat production. The enzymes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase) and NAD-dependent malic enzyme (NAD-ME) also show dramatic increases in activity during thermogenesis and are essential for heat generation. In this current study, we characterized the timing and localization of changes in levels of AOX, NAD-ME, and PEPCase polypeptide accumulation, and changes in Ppc and Me mRNA accumulation, in various Arum tissues during prethermogenic development and during thermogenesis. In addition, changes in ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) gene expression were analysed at the level of rbcL protein and mRNA accumulation. AOX, PEPCase, and NAD-ME all increased only in clubs during development, increasing 5–6-fold by the latest prethermogenic stage and remained at this level. The induction of thermogenesis did not cause any changes in levels of AOX, indicating that SA does not affect levels of the enzyme itself, but instead must act to stimulate activity. Reported increases in NAD-ME activity during club development correlated closely with mRNA and protein accumulation, whereas PEPCase activity appears to be determined by post-transcriptional and post-translational processes. Interestingly, Rubisco protein and mRNA were found in relatively abundant amounts in clubs during early developmental stages, and disappeared rapidly as the thermogenic enzymes began to increase in abundance. The induction of thermogenesis by a synthetic inducer of plant pathogen resistance, 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid, as well as the involvement of SA and AOX in both processes, reinforces evidence for a link between mechanisms controlling disease resistance in all plants and thermogenic induction in Arum.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishara Perera ◽  
Ayaka Fukushima ◽  
Tatsuki Akabane ◽  
Genki Horiguchi ◽  
Saman Seneweera ◽  
...  

Abstract Phytic acid (PA) is the primary phosphorus (P) storage compound in the seeds of cereals and legumes. Low PA crops, which are considered an effective way to improve grain nutrient availability and combat environmental issues relating to seed P have been developed using mutational and reverse genetics approaches. Here, we identify molecular mechanism regulating PA content among natural rice variants. First, we performed genome-wide association (GWA) mapping of world rice core collection (WRC) accessions to understand the genetic determinants underlying PA trait in rice. Further, a comparative study was undertaken to identify the differences in PA accumulation, protein profiles, and gene expression in low (WRC 5) and high PA (WRC 6) accessions. GWA results identified myo-inositol 3-phosphate synthase 1 (INO1) as being closely localized to a significant single nucleotide polymorphism. We found high rates of PA accumulation 10 days after flowering, and our results indicate that INO1 expression was significantly higher in WRC 6 than in WRC 5. Seed proteome assays found that the expression of INO1 was significantly higher in WRC 6. These results suggest that not only the gene itself but regulation of INO1 gene expression at early developmental stages is important in determining PA content in rice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Dunislawska ◽  
Agata Szczerba ◽  
Maria Siwek ◽  
Marek Bednarczyk

Abstract Objective Regulation of gene expression during embryo development on the basis of migration of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in vivo has been rarely studied due to limited cell number and the necessity to isolate PGCs from a large number of embryos. Moreover, little is known about the comprehensive dynamics of the transcriptome in chicken PGCs during early developmental stages. The current study investigated transcriptome dynamics of chicken PGCs at key developmental stages: 4.5, 8 and 12 days of embryo incubation. PGCs were collected, and RNA was isolated using a commercial kit for single cells. The isolated RNA was subjected to microarray analysis (Agilent Technologies). Results Between 8 and 12 days of incubation, the highest number of genes was regulated. These data indicate that the most intense biological activity occurs between 8 and 12 days of embryo development. Heat map showed a significant decrease in gene expression on day 8, while it increased on day 12. The development of a precise method to isolate bird PGCs as well as the method to isolate RNA from single cells isolated from one embryo allows for early molecular analysis and detection of transcriptome changes during embryonic development.


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