Genotypes of milk protein genes, alpha S1 -casein (CSN1S1), beta-casein (CSN2), kappa-casein (CSN3) and beta-lactoglobulin (LGB), were detected in 440 individuals of Czech Fleckvieh breed using a PCR-RFLP method. Breeding values of genotyped animals were obtained from the Official Database of Progeny Testing. A granddaughter design including 5 grandsires, 33 sons and 402 granddaughters was used for evaluation. Statistical analysis was carried out in SAS program using a restricted maximum likelihood method (REML). The aim of this study was to determine allele and genotype frequencies of observed genes and to find the relation between genotypes of genes and milk production parameters expressed by the breeding values of animals. The positive findings of frequencies of CSN3 allele B (0.38) and genotype BB (13%) were detected in the observed population. Significant differences were found between genotypes of loci CSN1S1, CSN2 and CSN3 and breeding values for milk production parameters. Genotypes of LGB locus were not significantly related to any of the milk production parameters. Significant effects were found between CSN1S1 locus and average breeding value for milk yield, CSN2 locus and breeding values for all parameters except for protein content and CSN3 locus and breeding values for protein content and protein yield. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the genetic constitution of Czech Fleckvieh breed and help with the application of the information to breeding.
The influence of geographic location, season, age, and part of the digestive tract on bacterial diversity was evaluated on intestinal microflora of honeybees, wasps, and cockroaches using DGGE analysis. PCR-DGGE analyses with universal bacterial primers targeting 200-bp region of the 16S rDNA gene afforded the profile of complex bacterial DNA; specific primers were used to determine the profile of bifidobacteria whose concentration in digestive tract was determined by real-time PCR. Selected PCR products were identified by sequencing. The microflora of the bees exhibited little variations among the hives from distant locations. Their bifidobacterial population formed 2.8-8.4 % of total bacteria and was very homogeneous. The total gut microflora of wasps was also homogeneous, only two samples being affected by the season or the location; on the other hand, wasp bifidobacterial population was very heterogeneous. Cockroaches showed the highest variations in microflora composition, the age and diet being the ultimate factors; bifidobacteria counts also varied among tested individuals (0.1-34.1 % of total bacteria). Our results suggest that nutrition habits are the strongest factor affecting the insect microflora, giving higher variations to omnivorous species.
Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical component of plastics, is a widely distributed environmental pollutant and contaminant of water, air, and food that negatively impacts human health. Concerns regarding BPA have led to the use of BPA-free alternatives, one of which is bisphenol S (BPS). However, the effects of BPS are not well characterized, and its specific effects on reproduction and fertility remain unknown. It is therefore necessary to evaluate any effects of BPS on mammalian oocytes. The present study is the first to demonstrate the markedly negative effects of BPS on pig oocyte maturation in vitro, even at doses lower than those humans are exposed to in the environment. Our results demonstrate (1) an effect of BPS on the course of the meiotic cell cycle; (2) the failure of tubulin fibre formation, which controls proper chromosome movement; (3) changes in the supply of maternal mRNA; (4) changes in the protein amounts and distribution of oestrogen receptors α and β and of aromatase; and (5) disrupted cumulus cell expansion. Thus, these results confirm that BPS is an example of regrettable substitution because this substance exerts similar or even worse negative effects than those of the material it replaced.
A range of substances that are released into the environment, foodstuffs and drinking water as a result of human activity were originally considered relatively harmless, and it was only later that their adverse effects were discovered. In general the use of such substances is currently restricted, and they are often replaced by other substances. This applies also in the case of a range of endocrine disruptors. These substances have the capacity to disturb the balance of physiological functions of the organism on the level of hormonal regulation, and their pleiotropic spectrum of effects is very difficult to predict. Endocrine disruptors include the currently intensively studied bisphenol A (BPA), a prevalent environmental pollutant and contaminant of both water and foodstuffs. BPA has a significantly negative impact on human health, particularly on the regulation mechanisms of reproduction, and influences fertility. The ever increasingly stringent restriction of the industrial production of BPA is leading to its replacement with analogues, primarily with bisphenol S (BPS), which is not subject to these restrictions and whose impacts on the regulation of reproduction have not yet been exhaustively studied. However, the limited number of studies at disposal indicates that BPS may be at least as harmful as BPA. There is therefore a potential danger that the replacement of BPA with BPS will become one of the cases of regrettable substitution, in which the newly used substances manifest similar or even worse negative effects than the substances which they have replaced. The objective of this review is to draw attention to ill-advised replacements of endocrine disruptors with substances whose effects are not yet tested, and which may represent the same risks for the environment, for the reproduction of males and females, and for human health as have been demonstrated in the case of the originally used substances.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.