Fluorescence Images: Merging and optimising

If you are using fluorescence microscopy you may need to merge images taken with different filter sets - for example DAPI to pick out nuclei together with fluorescent staining with or or more specific antibodies. Commonly you will want to merge these images into a composite. Image optimisation and merging can be achieved easily using the free Fiji package with ImageJ.

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Uterine flushing proteome of the tammar wallaby

Uterine flushing proteome of the tammar wallaby after reactivatiCynthia Martin's manuscript "Uterine flushing proteome of the tammar wallaby after reactivation from diapause." was just accepted by the international journal Reproduction. The pre-press manuscript is available at http://www.reproduction-online.org/content/early/2016/08/01/REP-16-0154. The work is a collaboration between Cynthia, Chin Seng Ang, a proteomics specialist at Bio21, and her supervisors Geoff, David and Marilyn. This is the first study to investigate changes in uterine secretion profiles using extremely sensitive, cutting-edge LC-MS/MS approaches, and highlights some of the factors that may be involved in the regulation of embryonic diapause.

Pubmed Record: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27486272

Welcome to new Wallaby Group Members

Welcome to Teruhito Ishihara, who joins us from Japan for a year to undertake an Honours research project investigating genomic imprinting with a focus on measuring changes in 5-Methyl-cytosine.

 

 

 

Welcome also to Caitlin Cusack, who will be investigating expression of the Insulin receptors during development for a 3rd year Research Project.

New Publication: Uterine morphology …

Laird-2016-Uterine morphology during diapause and early pregnancy in the tammar wallaby-JAnat_Page_01-600Recently published is the result of a collaboration between our laboratory, our past PhD student Cyrma Hearn and Melanie Laird at the University of Sydney,  These findings demonstrate that diapause, like pregnancy, is under unilateral endocrine control in the tammar, and that preparation for and maintenance of diapause requires substantial changes to uterine endometrial cell ultrastructure and activity.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27168485

Laird-2016-Uterine morphology during diapause and early pregnancy in the tammar wallaby-JAnat-fig2-600

NEW PAPER: Rewinding the process of mammalian extinction.

ZooBiol2016Marilyn Renfree among a group of concerned scientists convened a multidisciplinary meeting under the name “Conservation by Cellular Technologies.” The outcome of this meeting was a proposed road map that, if successfully implemented, would ultimately lead to a self-sustaining population of an extremely endangered species are outlined here. This new paper provides an overview of these ideas.

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Effects of nutritional manipulation on body composition in the developing marsupial, Macropus eugenii

Hot off the press:  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2016.03.030hetz16

When 60-day-old tammar wallaby pouch young (Macropus eugenii) are fostered to mothers at 120 days of lactation, their growth, developmental rate and maturation of their GH/IGF axes are markedly accelerated. To determine the effect of fostering on energy intake, body composition and fat accretion, we first measured total body fat and lean mass in these young. Next, we mimicked the triglyceride oleic and palmitic acid composition of 120-day milk by supplementing 60 day young with these fatty acids and comparing their growth with that of growth accelerated young. There was no difference in the weight or growth axis maturation of supplemented young but there was significantly more body fat in these and in the growth-accelerated fostered young than in controls. We conclude that the accelerated growth and GH/IGF axis maturation observed previously in fostered young is most likely due to increased milk consumption and earlier access to specific nutrients.

 

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