The Relative Contribution of The Male and Female to The Variation in Reproductive Success in Eucalyptus globulus

Abstract Low and variable capsule and seed set is a major factor limiting seed production in Eucalyptus globulus seed orchards. This study identified the relative contribution of the maternal and paternal parent to reproductive success in E. globulus, and examined the genetic basis to the observed variation. Reproductive success was measured in terms of the number of viable seeds obtained per flower crossed. Data on the reproductive success of numerous genotypes from the Furneaux, Strzelecki Ranges and Otways races were obtained from: (i) 12 years of operational full-sib crossing; (ii) a designed fullsib diallel mating scheme; and (iii) capsule retention trials conducted over three seasons at two Tasmanian seed orchards on the same ramets of different genotypes. Analysis of the sparse operational data revealed that both male and female factors significantly affected reproductive success, accounting for 5.0% and 7.9% of the variation respectively. The more precise diallel crossing revealed that a large, and significant, proportion 55%, of the variation in reproductive success between crosses at a single site was explained by the female parent. The male parent explained only 6.7%, but this effect was not statistically significant and was related to variation in in vitro pollen germination. The significant female effect was found to be consistent at the genotype level across seasons, sites and pollination techniques suggesting a genetic basis to the variation. It is argued that selection of genetically fecund females is a key consideration in reducing costs of manual pollination for breeding and deployment purposes.

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Reproductive success in a reintroduced population of a critically endangered shrub, Symonanthus bancroftii (Solanaceae)

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt06136 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 55 (4) ◽

pp. 425 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Qigang Ye ◽

Eric Bunn ◽

Siegfried L. Krauss ◽

Kingsley W. Dixon

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Pollen Viability ◽

Natural Habitat ◽

Female Parent ◽

Clonal Plants ◽

Critically Endangered ◽

Positive Sign ◽

Male And Female ◽

Sterile Culture

Symonanthus bancroftii is a critically endangered dioecious shrub, with only one male and one female plant known in the wild. Micropropagated, clonal plants of the male and female parents were hand-pollinated. Seed was germinated in sterile culture and a subsequent daughter (F1) seedling was multiplied in vitro. Micropropagated plants of the original parents and daughter were reintroduced to a natural habitat site. We detail the first study of pollination biology and reproductive success in this extremely rare species. Floral morphology, flowering phenology, pollen viability, female receptivity and fruit set of reintroduced plants of S. bancroftii were investigated. Flower viability of S. bancroftii shows a 25-day maximum for male flowers, whereas non-pollinated female flowers remain viable for a maximum of 38 days (female parent) and 41 days (daughter), respectively. Flowering of reintroduced male and female plants overlaps from mid-June to early November. Pollen remained viable for at least 8 days after anther dehiscence. Maximum stigma longevity recorded was 28 days (female parent) and 39 days (daughter) and maximum ovule longevity varied from 13 days (female parent) to 28 days (daughter). The mean percentage of flowers setting fruit was 39 ± 13% for female parent plants and 48 ± 4% for daughter plants. Empirical reproductive success measures for male–daughter crosses generally exceeded those of the original parent crosses. The reproductive success of S. bancroftii so soon after reintroduction of plants is a positive sign indicating that rapid accumulation of a soil seedbank is feasible and is thus an important first step towards successful establishment of self-sustaining populations of this critically endangered species.

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Effects of in vitro metamorphosis on survival, growth, and reproductive success of freshwater mussels

Biological Conservation ◽

10.1016/j.biocon.2021.108964 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 254 ◽

pp. 108964

Author(s):

Karel Douda ◽

Wendell R. Haag ◽

Felipe Escobar-Calderón ◽

Barbora Vodáková ◽

Martin Reichard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Freshwater Mussels

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Sperm modulate uterine immune parameters relevant to embryo implantation and reproductive success in mice

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-02038-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

John E. Schjenken ◽

David J. Sharkey ◽

Ella S. Green ◽

Hon Yeung Chan ◽

Ricky A. Matias ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Seminal Fluid ◽

Embryo Implantation ◽

Reproductive Investment ◽

Global Gene Expression ◽

Wild Type ◽

Mouse Uterus ◽

Immune Parameters ◽

Oocyte Fertilization

AbstractSeminal fluid factors modulate the female immune response at conception to facilitate embryo implantation and reproductive success. Whether sperm affect this response has not been clear. We evaluated global gene expression by microarray in the mouse uterus after mating with intact or vasectomized males. Intact males induced greater changes in gene transcription, prominently affecting pro-inflammatory cytokine and immune regulatory genes, with TLR4 signaling identified as a top-ranked upstream driver. Recruitment of neutrophils and expansion of peripheral regulatory T cells were elevated by seminal fluid of intact males. In vitro, epididymal sperm induced IL6, CXCL2, and CSF3 in uterine epithelial cells of wild-type, but not Tlr4 null females. Collectively these experiments show that sperm assist in promoting female immune tolerance by eliciting uterine cytokine expression through TLR4-dependent signaling. The findings indicate a biological role for sperm beyond oocyte fertilization, in modulating immune mechanisms involved in female control of reproductive investment.

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CD73+ CD127high Long-Term Memory CD4 T Cells Are Highly Proliferative in Response to Recall Antigens and Are Early Targets in HIV-1 Infection

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22020912 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 912

Author(s):

Nabila Seddiki ◽

John Zaunders ◽

Chan Phetsouphanh ◽

Vedran Brezar ◽

Yin Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

Cd4 T Cells ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Ki 67 ◽

Memory Cd4 T Cells ◽

Hiv 1

HIV-1 infection rapidly leads to a loss of the proliferative response of memory CD4+ T lymphocytes, when cultured with recall antigens. We report here that CD73 expression defines a subset of resting memory CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood, which highly express the α-chain of the IL-7 receptor (CD127), but not CD38 or Ki-67, yet are highly proliferative in response to mitogen and recall antigens, and to IL-7, in vitro. These cells also preferentially express CCR5 and produce IL-2. We reasoned that CD73+ memory CD4+ T cells decrease very early in HIV-1 infection. Indeed, CD73+ memory CD4+ T cells comprised a median of 7.5% (interquartile range: 4.5–10.4%) of CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood from healthy adults, but were decreased in primary HIV-1 infection to a median of 3.7% (IQR: 2.6–6.4%; p = 0.002); and in chronic HIV-1 infection to 1.9% (IQR: 1.1–3%; p < 0.0001), and were not restored by antiretroviral therapy. Moreover, we found that a significant proportion of CD73+ memory CD4+ T cells were skewed to a gut-homing phenotype, expressing integrins α4 and β7, CXCR3, CCR6, CD161 and CD26. Accordingly, 20% of CD4+ T cells present in gut biopsies were CD73+. In HIV+ subjects, purified CD73+ resting memory CD4+ T cells in PBMC were infected with HIV-1 DNA, determined by real-time PCR, to the same level as for purified CD73-negative CD4+ T cells, both in untreated and treated subjects. Therefore, the proliferative CD73+ subset of memory CD4+ T cells is disproportionately reduced in HIV-1 infection, but, unexpectedly, their IL-7 dependent long-term resting phenotype suggests that residual infected cells in this subset may contribute significantly to the very long-lived HIV proviral DNA reservoir in treated subjects.

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Reduced Ex Vivo Interleukin-8 Production by Neutrophils in Septic and Nonseptic Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v91.9.3439 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 91 (9) ◽

pp. 3439-3446 ◽

Cited By ~ 79

Author(s):

Christelle Marie ◽

Jane Muret ◽

Catherine Fitting ◽

Marie-Reine Losser ◽

Didier Payen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome ◽

Inflammatory Response ◽

Ex Vivo ◽

Endotoxin Tolerance ◽

Systemic Inflammatory Response ◽

Interleukin 8 ◽

Polymorphonuclear Cells ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Relative Contribution

AbstractEx vivo cytokine production by circulating lymphocytes and monocytes is reduced in patients with infectious or noninfectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Very few studies have addressed the reactivity of polymorphonuclear cells (PMN). To analyze further the relative contribution of systemic inflammatory response syndrome alone or in combination with infection we studied the interleukin-8 (IL-8) production by PMN isolated from patients who had undergone cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and patients with sepsis. Cells were activated with either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or heat-killed streptococci. Compared with healthy controls, the release of IL-8 by PMN in both groups of patients was significantly reduced whether activated by LPS, independently of its concentration and origin, or by heat-killed streptococci. These observations suggest that stressful conditions related to inflammation, independently of infection, rapidly dampened the reactivity of circulating PMN. We investigated whether the observed diminished reactivity of PMN might reflect an endotoxin tolerance phenomenon. Our in vitro experiments with PMN from healthy controls indicated that PMN could not be rendered tolerant stricto sensu. However, our data suggested that LPS-induced mediators such as IL-10 may be responsible for the observed anergy in patients.

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Influence of some adjuvants on in vitro clonal propagation of male and female jojoba plants

In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant ◽

10.1079/ivp2002369 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 217-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Surya Prakash ◽

Veena Agrawal ◽

S. C. Gupta

Keyword(s):

Clonal Propagation ◽

Male And Female ◽

In Vitro Clonal Propagation

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Toward Understanding the Contributions of Sex and Situation to Behavior in a College Setting

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1987.60.3.875 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 60 (3) ◽

pp. 875-883

Author(s):

Nancy Lipsitt ◽

Rose R. Olver

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

The Other ◽

Men And Women ◽

Male And Female ◽

Relative Contribution ◽

College Setting ◽

Female Subjects

The relative contribution of sex and situation has become a contested issue in the understanding of sex differences in behavior. In the present study, 20 male and 20 female undergraduates were asked to describe their behavior and thoughts in six everyday college situations. Three of the situations were constructed to be typically male and three typically female in content. The results indicate that men and women demonstrate sex-specific characteristics in their responses regardless of the type of situation presented. Men exhibited concern with separateness from others, while women exhibited concern with sustaining connection to others, even when faced with situations described to present demand properties that might be expected specifically to elicit the concern characteristic of the other sex. However, for these students the situation also made a difference: female-defined situations elicited the most masculine responses for both male and female subjects.

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High Rate of Negative Results of Tuberculin and QuantiFERON Tests Among Individuals With a History of Positive Skin Test Results

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1086/503690 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 27 (5) ◽

pp. 436-441 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Lloyd N. Friedman ◽

Esther R. Nash ◽

June Bryant ◽

Susan Henry ◽

Julia Shi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Skin Test ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

High Rate ◽

Negative Group ◽

Tuberculosis Screening ◽

Positive Skin ◽

Screening Programs ◽

History Of ◽

Positive Results

Objectives.To evaluate individuals at high risk for tuberculosis exposure who had a history of a positive tuberculin skin test (TST) result in order to determine the prevalence of unsuspected negative TST results. To confirm these findings with the QuantiFERON-TB test (QFT), an in vitro whole-blood assay that measures tuberculin-induced secretion of interferon-γ.Methods.This survey was conducted from November 2001 through December 2003 at 3 sites where TST screening is regularly done. Detailed histories and reviews of medical records were performed. TSTs were placed and read by 2 experienced healthcare workers, and blood was drawn for QFT. Any subject with a negative result of an initial TST during the study (induration diameter, <10 mm) underwent a second TST and a second QFT. The TST-negative group comprised individuals for whom both TSTs had an induration diameter of <10 mm. The confirmed-negative group comprised individuals for whom both TSTs yielded no detectable induration and results of both QFTs were negative.Results.A total of 67 immunocompetent subjects with positive results of a previous TST were enrolled in the study. Of 56 subjects who completed the TST protocol, 25 (44.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 31.6%-57.6%) were TST negative (P<.001). Of 31 subjects who completed the TST protocol and the QFT protocol, 8 (25.8%; 95% CI, 10.4%-41.2%) were confirmed negative (P<.005).Conclusions.A significant proportion of subjects with positive results of a previous TST were TST negative in this study, and a subset of these were confirmed negative. These individuals' TST status may have reverted or may never have been positive. It will be important in future studies to determine whether such individuals lack immunity to tuberculosis and whether they should be considered for reentry into tuberculosis screening programs.

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Post-hatching development of bovine embryos in vitro: the effects of tunnel preparation and gender

Zygote ◽

10.1017/s0967199411000086 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 123-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Grazieli Marinheiro Machado ◽

Ester Siqueira Caixeta ◽

Carolina Madeira Lucci ◽

Rodolfo Rumpf ◽

Maurício Machaim Franco ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

Tunnel Construction ◽

Agarose Gel ◽

Male And Female ◽

Embryo Size ◽

And Gender ◽

Phosphate Buffered Saline ◽

Kinetics Of

SummaryThe objective of this study was to compare morphological characteristics, kinetics of development, and gene expression of male and female IVP embryos that were cultured until day (D)15 (fertilization = D0), using either phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or Milli-Q water (MQW) to dilute the agarose gel used for tunnel construction. On D11, embryos (n = 286) were placed in agarose gel tunnels diluted in PBS and MQW. Embryos were evaluated for morphology, and embryo size was recorded on D11, D12.5, D14 and D15. Then, embryos were sexed and used for gene expression analyses (G6PD, GLUT1, GLUT3, PGK1, PLAC8, KRT8, HSF1 and IFNT). The percentage of elongated embryos at D15 was higher (p < 0.05) in the PBS (54%) than in the MQW (42%) gel. However, embryos produced in MQW were bigger (p < 0.05) and had a lower expression of GLUT1 (p = 0.08) than those cultured in PBS. There was a higher proportion of male than female embryos at D15 in both treatments, MQW (65% vs. 35%; p < 0.05) and PBS (67% vs. 33%; p < 0.05); however, embryo size was not significantly different between genders. Moreover, D15 female embryos had greater expression of G6PD (p = 0.05) and KRT8 (p = 0.03) than male embryos. In conclusion, the diluent used for tunnel construction affected embryo development in the post-hatching development (PHD) system, and the use of MQW was the most indicative measure for the evaluation of embryo quality. Male and female embryos cultured from D11 to D15, either in an MQW or PBS agarose gel, demonstrated similar development but different gene expression.

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