Elevated Non-Esterified Fatty Acid Concentrations during Bovine Oocyte Maturation Compromise Early Embryo Physiology

Elevated concentrations of serum non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), associated with maternal disorders such as obesity and type II diabetes, alter the ovarian follicular micro-environment and have been associated with subfertility arising from reduced oocyte developmental competence. We have asked whether elevated NEFA concentrations during oocyte maturation affect the development and physiology of zygotes formed from such oocytes, using the cow as a model. The zygotes were grown to blastocysts, which were evaluated for their quality in terms of cell number, apoptosis, expression of key genes, amino acid turnover and oxidative metabolism. Oocyte maturation under elevated NEFA concentrations resulted in blastocysts with significantly lower cell number, increased apoptotic cell ratio and altered mRNA abundance of DNMT3A, IGF2R and SLC2A1. In addition, the blastocysts displayed reduced oxygen, pyruvate and glucose consumption, up-regulated lactate consumption and higher amino acid metabolism. These data indicate that exposure of maturing oocytes to elevated NEFA concentrations has a negative impact on fertility not only through a reduction in oocyte developmental capacity but through compromised early embryo quality, viability and metabolism

Improving society's management of risks - a statement of principles

In 2018 a new collaborative initiative was launched by Atomium-EISD to encourage ways risk can be intelligently understood and managed. This collaboration seeks to foster greater public risk literacy, from its stronger forms of developing better statistical understanding to more basic abilities to recognize characteristics of both bad and good risk communication and research. The aim is to make an actionable impact on risk conversations in society, among thought-leaders and between decision-makers and to improve the quality of debate and decision making around risk issues. The ultimate aim is to free up societal resources which can then be used for the greater good of the public

Non-invasive amino acid turnover predicts human embryo developmental capacity

Background: IVF is limited by low success rates and a confounding high multiple birth rate contributing to prematurity, increased neonatal mortality and child handicap. These problems could be overcome if single embryos of known developmental competence could be selected for transfer on day 2/3 of development, but current methods, which rely on morphological appearance, are poor predictors of viability. Methods: We have measured non-invasively the depletion/appearance (i.e. turnover) of a physiological mixture of 18 amino acids by single human embryos during in-vitro culture using high performance liquid chromatography. Results: From the time of transfer (day 2/3), embryos with future competence to develop to the blastocyst stage (day 5/6) exhibit amino acid flux patterns distinct from those of embryos with similar morphological appearance which arrest. Significantly, the profiles of Ala, Arg, Gln, Met and Asn flux predict blastocyst potentiality at >95%. The amino acid most consistently depleted throughout development by those embryos which form blastocysts was leucine. Of the amino acids which were produced, the most striking was alanine, which appeared in increasing amounts throughout development. Conclusions: Non-invasive amino acid profiling has the potential to select developmentally competent single embryos for transfer, thereby increasing the success rate and eliminating multiple births in IVF

Effects of temperature on germination and hyphal growth from ascospores of A-group and B-group Leptosphaeria maculans (phoma stem canker of oilseed rape)

Ascospores of both A-group and B-group Leptosphaeria maculans germinated at temperatures from 5-20degreesC on distilled water agar or detached oilseed rape leaves. After 2 h of incubation on water agar, some A-group ascospores had germinated at 10-20degreesC and some B-group ascospores had germinated at 5-20degreesC. The percentages of both A-group and B-group ascospores that had germinated after 24 h of incubation increased with increasing temperature from 5-20'C. The observed time (Vo(50)) which elapsed from inoculation until 50% of the spores had germinated was shorter for B-group than for A-group ascospores. Germ tube length increased with increasing temperature from 5-20degreesC for both ascospore groups. Germ tubes from B-group ascospores were longer than germ tubes from A-group ascospores at all temperatures tested, but the mean diameter of germ tubes from A-group ascospores (1.8 mum) was greater than that of those from B-group ascospores (1.2 mum) at 15degreesC and 20degreesC. The average number of germ tubes produced from A-group ascospores (3.8) was greater than that from B-group ascospores (3.1) after 24 h of incubation at 20degreesC, on both water agar and leaf surfaces. Germ tubes originated predominantly From interstitial cells or terminal cells of A-group or B-group ascospores, respectively, on both water agar and leaf surfaces. Hyphae from A-group ascospores grew tortuously with extensive branching, whilst those from B-group ascospores were predominantly long and straight with little branching, whether the ascospores were produced from oilseed rape debris or from crosses between single ascospore isolates, and whether ascospores were germinating on water agar or leaf surfaces.Peer reviewe