Melatonin, the major secretory product of the pineal gland, scavenges a variety of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in vivo and in vitro, indicating that melatonin is a potent function as an antioxidant. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of melatonin in the presence or absence of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) on sperm characteristics (motility, viability, survival rate, membrane integrity, lipid peroxidation (LPO) and mitochondria activity) and also to examine the developmental rates to the blastocysts stage of porcine oocytes fertilized in vitro with semen treated with or without melatonin (100 nM) in the presence or absence of H(2)O(2) (250 μM). The sperm were treated with melatonin in the presence or absence of H(2)O(2) for 3, 6, 9 and 12 h at 37°C and then analysed for the sperm characteristics. The porcine embryos were produced by in vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization (IVM/IVF) using semen treated with or without melatonin (100 nM) in the presence or absence of H(2)O(2) (250 μM) for 6 h. The semen characteristics, including motility, viability, survival rate, membrane integrity and mitochondria activity, were higher in the groups that were treated with melatonin in comparison to other groups, irrespective of incubation periods. Malondialdehyde levels in control, melatonin and melatonin + H(2)O(2) groups were lower than H(2)O(2) only group. A positive correlation was shown among motility, viability, survival rate and membrane integrity, but a negative correlation was observed between LPO and the other evaluation methods. The developmental rates to blastocysts of IVM/IVF porcine oocytes fertilized by semen treated with melatonin were significantly increased compared with any other groups, with the cell number of blastocysts shown to have a similar trend to the developmental rates. These results demonstrate that melatonin can improve the semen characteristics during in vitro storage and support the developmental ability of IVM/IVF embryos in pigs.

ABSTRACT. Understanding genetic diversity, population structure, and linkage disequilibrium is a prerequisite for the association mapping of complex traits in a target population. In this study, the genetic diversity and population structure of 40 waxy and 40 normal inbred maize lines were investigated using 10 morphological traits and 200 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Based on a population structure analysis, the 80 maize inbred lines were divided into three groups: I, II, and admixed. Significant marker-trait associations were identified between the markers and the 10 morphological traits, which were studied according to the model used to confirm the association. Using a general linear model, the lowest R 2 value (9.03) was detected in umc1139, which was associated with ear number, and the highest (43.97) was in umc1858, which was associated with plant height. Using a mixed linear model, the lowest R 2 value (18.74) was in umc1279, which was 7503 Agronomic-trait association mapping in maize inbred lines ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 14 (3): 7502-7518 (2015) associated with ear weight; the highest (27.66) was in umc1858, which was associated with 100-kernel weight. The SSR markers identified in the present study may serve as useful molecular markers for selecting important yield and agronomic traits. These results will be useful for marker-assisted selection in maize breeding programs, to help breeders choose parental lines and markers for crosses.

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Purpose: To investigate the anti-cancer effect of methyl alcohol extract of Enteromorpha linza (Linnaeus) J. Agardh (MEEL) in U937 human leukemia cells. Methods: Cytotoxicity was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium