The presence of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was studied in developing nervous tissues: rat cerebral cortex and neuroepithelial derivatives of a murine teratocarcinoma. AFP was localized by an indirect immunohistoperoxidase technique. Using serial dilutions of anti-AFP antibodies, the end-points of staining (minimal concentration of antibodies giving a positive labelling) were established. These points enabled the evaluation of the amount of stained AFP at different periods of development. In rat cerebral cortex, AFP showed one maximum amount on the 19th-20th day 'postcoitum' (in moderately differentiated structures), and two minima on the 13th-14th day (in primitively differentiated ones) and the 28th-29th day (in well-differentiated ones), respectively. Similarly, one maximum and two minima were established in the derivatives of teratocarcinoma imitating normal neural development.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Genetic correlation estimations between artificial insemination sire performances and their progeny beef traits both measured in test stations.

In France, beef traits of artificial insemination (AI) beef bulls are improved through the sequential selection for their own performances and for their male progeny performances, both being recorded in test stations. The efficiency of such programmes mainly depends on the genetic correlations between sire performances and progeny beef traits. Such correlations were independently estimated, using the multivariate REML (restricted maximum likelihood) method in a Limousin and a Charolais programme. In both breeds, high genetic correlations were observed between sires and progeny analogous morphology scores (from 0.64 to 0.82). Genetic correlations estimated between sires and progeny growth (from 0.41 to 0.70) were lower probably due to the difference of diet in central and progeny stations. Correlations between sire muscling scores and progeny skeletal frames (and vice-versa) were negative (from -0.05 to -0.58). The genetic correlations of sire traits with progeny dressing percentage (DPp) and carcass fatness score (CFp) were only low to moderate. These results show that the selection of bulls at the end of performance testing in test stations may be efficient in improving progeny growth and morphology. However, such a selection is insufficient in improving their dressing percentage and carcass composition.

Journal Article↗