The PLIN1 gene produces a phosphorylated protein wrapped in lipid droplets in adipocytes. This phosphorylation assists the mobilization of fat into adipose tissue. The purpose of the experiment was to study the polymorphism of the PLIN1 gene and its relationship with the body and carcass characteristics of Qinchuan cattle to find molecular genetic markers that can be used for breeding. The expression level of the PLIN1 gene was determined in various tissues by qRT-PCR. The results showed that the highest level of PLN1 expression was found in subcutaneous fat, followed by the heart and longissimus muscle, and the lowest level was found in the kidney. Five SNP loci of the PLIN1 gene were identified in 510 Qinchuan cattle, including g.3580T>C (SNP1), g.3898G>A (SNP2), g.8333G>A (SNP3), g.10517T>C (SNP4), and g.10538G>T (SNP5). The results show that SNP1, SNP2, SNP3, and SNP4 were moderately polymorphic (0.25 < PIC < 0.5), while SNP5 was minimally polymorphic (PIC < 0.25). SNP2, SNP3, and SNP5 were within Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (P > 0.05), but SNP1 and SNP4 were not (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that the five SNPs of the PLIN1 gene were correlated with back-fat depth, intramuscular fat, and chest depth of Qinchuan cattle. The double haplotype H2H4 in Qinchuan beef was associated with body and carcass traits. We conclude that variants mapped within PLIN1 can be used in marker-assisted selection for carcass quality and body traits in breed improvement programs for Qinchuan cattle.

Asexual reproduction can be triggered by interspecific hybridization, but its emergence is supposedly rare, relying on exceptional combinations of suitable genomes. To examine how genomic and karyotype divergence between parental lineages affect the incidence of asexual gametogenesis, we experimentally hybridized fishes (Cobitidae) across a broad phylogenetic spectrum, assessed by whole exome data. Gametogenic pathways generally followed a continuum from sexual reproduction in hybrids between closely related evolutionary lineages to sterile or inviable crosses between distant lineages. However, most crosses resulted in a combination of sterile males and asexually reproducing females. Their gametes usually experienced problems in chromosome pairing, but females also produced a certain proportion of oocytes with premeiotically duplicated genomes, enabling their development into clonal eggs. Interspecific hybridization may thus commonly affect cell cycles in a specific way, allowing the formation of unreduced oocytes. The emergence of asexual gametogenesis appears tightly linked to hybrid sterility and constitutes an inherent part of the extended speciation continuum.

Nanoparticles are finding increasing applications in diagnostics, imaging and therapeutics in medicine. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) have received significant interest of scientific community due to their distinctive properties. For the first time, we have delivered IONs into germ cells in any species. Our results showed that sturgeon primordial germ cells (PGCs) delivered with IONs could be detected until seven days post fertilization (dpf) under fluorescent microscope and at 22 dpf by micro-CT. Delivery of IONs into cells could be helpful for studying germ cell biology and the improvement of germ cell-based bio-technologies as isolation of PGCs using magnetic activated cell sorting or application of hyperthermia for a host sterilization purpose. Intriguingly, in our study, we did not find any toxic effects of IONs on the survival and hatching rates of sturgeon embryos when compared with embryos injected with FITC-dextran only.

Asexual reproduction can be triggered by interspecific hybridization, but its emergence is supposedly rare, relying on exceptional combinations of suitable genomes. To examine how genomic and karyotype divergence between parental lineages affect the incidence of asexual gametogenesis, we experimentally hybridized fishes (Cobitidae) across a broad phylogenetic spectrum, assessed by whole exome data. Gametogenic pathways generally followed a continuum from sexual reproduction in hybrids between closely related evolutionary lineages to sterile or inviable crosses between distant lineages. However, most crosses resulted in a combination of sterile males and asexually-reproducing females. Their gametes usually experienced problems in chromosome pairing, but females also produced a certain proportion of oocytes with premeiotically duplicated genomes, enabling their development into clonal eggs. Interspecific hybridization may thus commonly affect cell cycles in a specific way, allowing the formation of unreduced oocytes. The emergence of asexual gametogenesis appears tightly linked to hybrid sterility and constitutes an inherent part of the extended speciation continuum.

Asexual reproduction can be triggered by interspecific hybridization, but its emergence is supposedly rare, relying on exceptional combinations of suitable genomes. To examine how genomic and karyotype divergence between parental lineages affect the incidence of asexual gametogenesis, we experimentally hybridized fishes (Cobitidae) across a broad phylogenetic spectrum, assessed by whole exome data. Gametogenic pathways generally followed a continuum from sexual reproduction in hybrids between closely related evolutionary lineages to sterile or inviable crosses between distant lineages. However, most crosses resulted in a combination of sterile males and asexually-reproducing females. Their gametes usually experienced problems in chromosome pairing, but females also produced a certain proportion of oocytes with premeiotically duplicated genomes, enabling their development into clonal eggs. Interspecific hybridization may thus commonly affect cell cycles in a specific way, allowing the formation of unreduced oocytes. The emergence of asexual gametogenesis appears tightly linked to hybrid sterility and constitutes an inherent part of the extended speciation continuum.