Cloning

Androgens regulate important processes involved in the normal development and function of the human and rodent prostate glands. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a new androgen-regulated gene, designated WDR19, that encodes repeating sequence motifs found in the WD-repeat family of proteins. The WD repeat is a conserved domain of approximately 40 amino acids that is typically bracketed by glycine-histidine and tryptophan-aspartic acid (WD) dipeptides. WD-repeat proteins are a large group of structurally related proteins that participate in a wide range of cellular functions, including transmembrane signaling, mRNA modification, vesicle formation, and vesicular trafficking. The WDR19 gene comprises 36 exons and is located on chromosome 4p15-4p11. The predicted protein contains six WD repeats, a clathrin heavy-chain repeat, and three transmembrane domains. Sequence analysis reveals that the WDR19 gene is conserved from Caenorhabditis elegans to human. WDR19 is expressed in normal and neoplastic prostate epithelium as demonstrated by RNA in situ hybridization and is regulated by androgenic hormones. WDR19 transcripts exhibit alternative splicing in which two isoforms appear to be prostate restricted, a property that could be exploited for designing diagnostic or therapeutic strategies for prostate carcinoma.

The prevalence of human rotavirus and adenovirus in sewage and water samples before and after treatment steps and also in clinical samples was compared in this study to determine the most prevalent virus and the more resistant one to treatment processes. The prevalence percentage of rotaviruses in sewage samples collected from raw sewage of Zenin wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) from July 2009 to June 2011 was 16.7% (4/24) while the prevalence percentage of adenoviruses in the same raw sewage samples was 91.7% (22/24). The prevalence percentage of rotaviruses in Nile water samples collected from El-Giza water treatment plant (WTP) from July 2009 to June 2011 was 29.2% (7/24) while the prevalence percentage of adenoviruses in the same Nile water samples was 66.7% (16/24). Rotavirus could be only detected and quantified as genome copies and infectious units in the peak months of the virus in autumn and winter. Adenovirus genome copies and infectious units were higher in winter than in the other months but considerable numbers of both of them were quantified all the year. The means of adenovirus genome and infectious units removals were 3.5±1.1 log and 10 2.8±0.8 log respectively while the means of rotavirus genome and infectious units removals were 3.75±0.5 log 10 10 and 3±1.2 log respectively after treatment processes of Zenin WWTP. The means of adenovirus genome and 10 infectious units removals were 2.3±0.9 log and 2.1±0.9 log respectively while the means of rotavirus genome 10 10 and infectious units removals were 2.86±1.1 log and 2.57±1.1 log respectively after treatment processes of 10 10 El-Giza WTP. Rotavirus was the most prevalent in diarrheal samples 31.8% (35/110), while adenovirus was detected in 18.1% (20/110) of the samples. Sequence analysis of positive adenovirus samples indicated that 19 samples (6 raw sewage, 5 Nile water and 8 clinical samples) showed similar sequences clustered with human adenovirus 41 strain 503804/KOL/2009 hexon gene with 94% homology and 5 samples (2 raw sewage and 3 Nile water samples)

Genomic and cDNA clones of a mcol gene encoding mini-collagen (MCOL), a nematocyst capsule protein, have been isolated from a reef-building coral, Acropora donei (Anthozoa). The gene and its flanking regions, comprising 5382 bp and covering three exons and two introns, were sequenced. Exons 2 and 3 together have an open reading frame which can encode a MCOL of 176 amino acids (aa). The coral MCOL has all the characteristic regions present in the four hydra MCOL specified by the four mcol cDNA clones previously isolated from Hydra magnipapillata (Hydrozoa) by Kurz et al. I-J. Cell Biol. 115 (1991) 1159-1169, including a central Gly-Xaa-Yaa region and flanking Pro-rich and Cys-repeat regions. This observation suggests that a mcol family is highly conserved in Anthozoa and Hydrozoa, and also that the characteristic regions present in MCOL are essential for the structure and function of these peptides.

This paper proposes the real-coded clonal selection algorithm (RCSA) for use in electromagnetic design optimization. Some features of the algorithm, such as the number of clones, mutation range, and the fraction of the population selected each generation are discussed. The TEAM Workshop problem 22 is investigated, in order to illustrate the performance of the algorithm in a real electromagnetic problem. The results obtained, a set of optimal solutions representing a broader range of options for the designer, are compared with those achieved by a genetic algorithm, showing the efficiency of the RCSA in practical optimization problems.

This book addresses the motif of literary twinship from the Shakespearean age until today. Twins have all too often been discussed as mere footnotes to the allegedly more nuanced motif of the doppelganger, or as a kind of 'embarrassing' secret of literary history that is said to occur merely in inferior genres like farce or horror fiction. This study, by contrast, makes a case for the complexity of literary twinship across the literary spectrum, and it demonstrates that twinship articulates bodily anxieties, dynastic troubles, and genetic concerns that the classic double trope cannot ac-commodate. While the book does not deliver a complete and unabridged history of literary twin-ship (as such a history would inevitably be one marked by long gaps), it still examines twinship in a diachronic fashion and in different historical periods in order to show how the category of twinship is frequently re-negotiated as part of larger discursive shifts. Some historical periods understand twins mainly as a biological conundrum that threatens to expose the arbitrary laws of dynastic kin-ship, others as an epistemological problem that challenges any attempt to impose clear-cut definitions.
The individual case studies trace the development of the category of twinship over time, demonstrating how the twin was repeatedly (re-)invented as a cultural and pathological type when other discursive areas (including the fields of criminology and eugenics) constituted themselves, and how it served as the battleground for ideological disputes. It is in-midst of these discursive processes that I locate literary twinship, and my goal is not to demonstrate that literature 'mirrors' scientific debates of the day. Not only is it evident that literature frequently prefigured the discussions of modern twin scholarship, it has also been instrumental in facilitating these debates and in contributing to the negotiation of power shifts, for instance by setting the stage for debates regarding kinship systems in the Shakespearean age, by engaging in the Victorian reformulation of the criminal as genetically/pathologically evil, or by contributing to the dystopian quality of cloning discourse in the 20th century.

IT industry loses tens of billions of dollars annually from security attacks such as tampering and malicious reverse engineering. Code obfuscation techniques counter such attacks by transforming code into patterns that resist the attacks. None of the current code obfuscation techniques satisfy all the obfuscation effectiveness criteria such as resistance to reverse engineering attacks and state space increase. To address this, we introduce new code patterns that we call nontrivial code clones and propose a new obfuscation scheme that combines nontrivial clones with existing obfuscation techniques to satisfy all the effectiveness criteria. The nontrivial code clones need to be constructed manually, thus adding to the development cost. This cost can be limited by cloning only the code fragments that need protection and by reusing the clones across projects. This makes it worthwhile considering the security risks. In this paper, we present our scheme and illustrate it with a toy example.

Abstract A multidisciplinary approach is being used to identify and validate virulence factors and determinants of bacteria of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc). Bcc is a group of problematic opportunistic pathogenic bacteria, particularly among cystic fibrosis patients, ...

O trabalho pretende responder se os humanos clonados artificialmente na série televisiva Orphan Black são tratados como commodities ao explorar discussões no campo da bioética que envolvem clonagem humana artificial. Para tal, serão descritos debates prévios e presentes sobre a clonagem artificial, assim como a condição em que o humano seria colocado caso a clonagem humana artificial obtenha sucesso. As visões de Jean Baudrillard e Donna Haraway serão comparadas. A metodologia empregada será a análise de episódios de Orphan Black, junto à revisão bibliográfica.

Human cloning is a big step for humankind, a great scientific achievement, but it is also risky and dangerous. Will this tremendous advancement in biomedicine and genetic engineering threaten the whole of mankind and whether in the future man will become the ordinary object of experiment. There are many doubts about cloning, and of which are most important is where it actually leads, and will we be able to stop it in time.

In this article, I complicate the ways that scientists and artists stage unique taxidermied animals. I look to what present-day taxidermy sculpture examples can teach us about human fears of extinction. Taxidermy has been repurposed in art galleries and is used to commemorate famous animals, such as ‘Dolly’, a cloned Finn Dorset sheep. I explore how taxidermy art can be used to theorize and think through anthropocentric apocalyptic time. In order to challenge artificial human notions of origins and ends, I place Dolly’s taxidermied remains in dialogue with Robert Marbury’s ‘vegan’ taxidermy sculpture of a woolly mammoth, made from discarded plush toys. Taxidermied Dolly (an animal that transcends ‘natural’ origins) and Marbury’s mammoth (a faux taxidermy piece that does not use real animal skin) blur boundaries – the real from the fake, the authentic from the gaff – and help us think through the temporal limits of human knowledge.

Este trabalho procurará analisar a representação de clones humanos na série televisiva Orphan Black com base nas obras de Donna Haraway e Jean Baudrillard, ao ponderar aproximações e distanciamentos entre as abordagens propostas pela série e os dois pensadores citados. Para tal, as ideias de clonagem humana artificial e biotecnologia retratadas em Orphan Black serão analisadas, com ênfase nos campos da bioética, transhumanismo e individualidade. A partir desses aprofundamentos, a pesquisa discutirá como Orphan Black traz informações pertinentes a respeito da biotecnologia para seu público. A metodologia empregada será a análise de episódios de Orphan Black baseada em conceitos dos Estudos Culturais Críticos propostos por Kellner (2001). A revisão bibliográfica se também se faz necessária, tendo como base as obras de Jean Baudrillard e Donna Haraway.

In this paper we discuss the use of genetic engineering in livestock production. We examine the main two different aspects of genetic engineering: cloning and transgenesis. After commenting what has been expected from both techniques in livestock production in the last 25 years, the practical difficulties for implementing cloning and transgenesis are examined. Apart from technical difficulties, problems derived from the detection of genetically superior animals and evaluation of the clones and the transgenic animals make these techniques less interesting than they appear to be. Most of the observed variability of the economically interesting traits is not genetic, genetic evaluation needs a large number of animals and cloning success will represent a serious loss of genetic variability and the loss of the flexibility needed for markets in constant evolution. There is a risk in transgenic animals of production of new intermediate biochemical products that may be toxic, allergenic or carcinogenic. The benefits produced by transgenic animals hitherto hardly justify this risk. The expectations that genetic engineering produced 25 years ago should be re-examined, considering the risks and the high investment required.

c-Glutamyl transpeptidase (E.C. 2.3.2.2; GGT) catalyses hydrolysis of c-glutamyl linkages in c-glutamyl peptides and transfer of the c-glutamyl group to amino acids and peptides. Although plant c-glutamyl peptide metabolism is important in biosynthesis and metabolism of secondary products and xenobiotics, plant GGTs are poorly characterised. We purified a membrane-associated GGT from sprouting onion bulbs that catalyses transpeptidation of methionine by the synthetic substrate c-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide (GGPNA) and obtained N-terminal peptide sequence. We also cloned the full-length coding region of an onion GGT by homology with the Arabidopsis enzyme and confirmed that this shared the same N-terminal sequence. Enzyme kinetic studies show that the enzyme has high affinity for glutathione and glutathione conjugates, and that affinity for S-substituted glutathione analogs decreases as the substituted chain length increases. The major onion c-glutamyl peptide, c-glutamyl trans-S-1-propenyl cysteine sulfoxide (GGPrCSO) exhibited uncompetitive inhibition of transpeptidation by GGPNA. This suggests that GGPrCSO is a poor glutamyl donor and therefore unlikely to be an in vivo substrate for peptidase activity by this enzyme. (J.A. McCallum). www.elsevier.com/locate/phytochem Phytochemistry 66 (2005) 515-522 PHYTOCHEMISTRY

The ethics of using genetic engineering to enhance athletic performance has been a recurring topic in the sport philosophy and bioethics literature. In this article, we analyze the ethics of cloning horses for polo competition. In doing so, we critically examine the arguments most commonly advanced to justify this practice. In the process, we raise concerns about cloning horses for polo competition, centering on normative aspects pertaining to sport ethics usually neglected by defenders of cloning. In particular, we focus on (1) how this practice could have a detrimental impact on the central skills of polo, and (2) how it unjustly creates an uneven playing field. We suggest that the polo community would benefit from critically considering the ethical quandaries posed by the practice of cloning horses for polo competition.

Dolly la oveja, como primer mamífero en ser clonado de una célula adulta, es de sobra el clon más famoso del mundo. No obstante, la clonación ha existido en la naturaleza desde los albores de la vida. Desde las bacterias asexuales a las 'aves vírgenes' en pulgones, los clones nos rodean y no son, en esencia, distintos de otros organismos. Un clon posee la misma secuencia de ADN que su progenitor y, por lo tanto, son genéticamente idénticos.

Розвиток цивілізації спричиняє появу нових напрямів наукових досліджень і виробництв, які мають важливе соціальне значення. А це зумовлює необхідність їхнього правового врегулювання. Право встановлює певні рамки для розвитку науково-технічного прогресу, для впровадження і застосування нових досягнень людської думки. Дедалі більшої актуальності набуває правова регламентація в галузі генно-інженерної діяльності. Развитие цивилизации вызывает появление новых направлений научных исследований и производств, которые имеют важное социальное значение. А это вызывает необходимость их правового урегулирования. Право устанавливает определенные рамки для развития научно-технического прогресса, для внедрения и применения новых достижений человеческой мысли. все большей актуальность приобретает правовая регламентация в области генно-инженерной деятельности. The development of civilization causes the emergence of new areas of research and production, which have a great social importance. This necessitates their legal settlement. The right to establish a framework for the development of scientific and technological progress, for the introduction and application of new achievements of human thought. More relevance acquires legal regulation in the field of genetic engineering.

science fiction novels that explore humanity's unique and distinct place in the universe. By greying the boundaries between humans and their technological creations, these posthuman narratives interrogate the concept of the "human" as a stable and fixed ontological category. Ethical considerations inherent in the destabilization of species boundaries also provide criticism of the apotheosis of humans as a superior or "master" species within the Chain of Being. The need to maintain a human/creation hierarchy however, ironically undermines the integrity of being "human".

Commemorating the 200th publication anniversary of Mary Shelley's classic novel, Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus, we recognize the enduring power of the ancient Promethean myth for prompting visceral fears of scientific monsters today. Today's Frankenfear arises from worry that laboratory scientists will trespass against the sacredness of nature, and that nature will retaliate with fiendish violence. Apprehension that scientists might be playing god surfaces with public fear over environmental degradation, climate change, genetic engineering, cloning, and global nuclear war. Is such Frankenfear realistic? Or, is it paranoia? Theologically, there is no ground for fearing that scientists are playing god. Instead of stopping research based on paranoia, courageous future-oriented scientists should proceed with caution.

Altered Carbon (Lenic & Kalogridis, 2018-) is centrally about the fantasy of eradicating death, as well as the survival and negotiation of identity in a new body. This fantasy, coupled to that of extending the human life span, has been a long-standing, persistent dream, given recurrent expression in mythological and Biblical accounts, in early epic narratives and in art. A considerable number of recent works, both literary and cinematic,  engage with the possibility of almost infinite life extension, usually by being reborn in a new body. This lengthy list of visual and fictional narratives dealing with the age old ambition of quasi-immortality bears witness to a genetic, transhumanist imaginary that is taking the goal of progressively abolishing death more seriously. Altered Carbon can be inscribed in this increasingly emphatic thematic cluster that envisages novel ways of prolonging life, offering its own solutions to the inevitability of death, including new (cloned) bodies for the extremely wealthy. The premise of erasing death is not new, of course, neither is the concept of body hopping or body swapping,  but the extent to which it is applied in Altered Carbon, where it is valid for everybody, is unprecedented. These fantasies have been updated by envisaging the possibility of avoiding or postponing death by being reincarnated into a new body or, more radically, by always having cloned versions of one's body ready to receive one's memories, kept in a "cortical stack," as is the case in Altered Carbon. These cloned versions can only be afforded by the extremely rich, which yet again introduces dystopian capitalist hierarchy and selection into this transhumanist scenario where death has been all but eliminated. While Altered Carbon

Les mots accolés d'une étoile (*) possèdent leur définition dans le glossaire des termes biologiques situé à la fin. S'y référer en cas de besoin. L I CHOIX DES MEDIUMS : LA LOGIQUE DU MULTIPLE Lorsque différents médiums interviennent au sein d"une démarche artistique, leurs interactions soulèvent un certain nombre de questions. Quels liens entre sérigraphie et son? Comment transmettre de manière sonore (et donc immatérielle) cette répétition présente dans le papier peint ? Que traduit cette disparition de l"image ? Ces questions ont parsemé notre travail plastique dans le but de parvenir à une identification théorique de notre démarche.

Human cloning is one of the most hotly debated scientific issues of our time. Theorists have provided conflicting opinions in agreement and disagreement with this technology, such opinions often being based on differing ethical theories.

States have also adopted diverging approaches to this technology. Due to the global ramifications of human cloning, States have sought the conclusion of a global treaty for the regulation thereof. Although this has been possible within the regional setting of Europe, the global attempt at regulation has failed and simply resulted in the adoption of a weak resolution by the UN General Assembly. Although States were in agreement about the international system of human rights as being the general theory of ethics, guiding the discussions for regulation, the divergent interpretations provided by States on the rules and concepts of this system were such as to preclude the possibility of a meaningful agreement.

In this thesis, after critically reviewing the different positions on the ethical aspects of human cloning, the necessity of basing the international system of human rights as the general ethical theory for the international regulation of this technology is justified. Then, the relevant rules of the said system are reviewed and finally, an analysis of the core concepts of the international system of human rights as they relate to the subject at hand is provided in order to introduce the most compatible approach to human cloning with the international system of human rights.

An inquiry into the bioethical or ethical component of posthumanism can be through the question of sex. Following from Manoj’s idea of a cyborg as having a “sexless” possibility, this paper presents other arguments that advance the possibility of asexuality in the posthuman. First, I begin with a discussion of Žižek’s point concerning the cessation or voiding of sexual difference. Second, I will continue such an argument through the self-replicating possibilities of cloning and full cyberspace immersion, the later as prototyped by Pokémon. And finally, there seems to be an inevitable thread that begs to link the concept of the posthuman to Nietzsche so I will explore some of the arguments that include or exclude Nietzschean ethics in this prospect.

We need no special introduction to the revolutionary enzyme – Taq polymerase – that made it possible for a field called genetic engineering to flourish and assisted many other disciplines to develop. The technique of PCR is now used extensively in many different areas of science, forensics and medicine. In this review paper, we explore the different aspects of this absolutely indispensable biotechnological tool, and review the ingenious strategies of cloning of Taq polymerase gene for better yield and lower production costs.

In the present scenario with the advancement of animal genetics to utilize the non-additive gene action two technologies i.e. molecular genetics technologies and reproductive assisted technologies have been developed to overcome the human requirement in short period of time genetically. The molecular genetics technologies that are adopted to exploit non-additive gene action are marker assisted selection technology, genetic markers, animal cloning and transgenic animals while that of reproductive assisted technologies are artificial insemination, embryo transfer, in-vitro fertilization, somatic cell nuclear transfer and multiple ovulation and embryo transfer. Modernized animal breeding technologies has being harnessed in various aspects of the livestock industry to hasten breed development for improved animal health and welfare, enhanced reproduction, and improved nutritional quality and safety of animal derived foods. Although substantial additional genetic gains can be achieved with selection on linked genetic markers, the ultimate aim will be to directly identify the main genes involved in a trait and to elucidate the function of each of these genes. To bring a genetic gain, it is well accepted that local animals must be safeguarded to maintain its purity, records must be kept to evaluate best animal and highly productive cows should not be crossbred with exotic breeds and breeding policy should be set. The genetic improvement for increased milk and meat output is inevitable. Such development interventions should operate within crossbreeding policy framework without affecting genetic diversity. INTRODUCTION With the advancement of biotechnology and molecular biology, Drinkwater and Hetzel, [1] revealed that meat and milk from farmed animals including livestock i.e. cattle, goat and buffalo along with meat and egg from poultry [2,3] are important sources of high quality protein and essential amino acids, minerals, fats and fatty acids, readily available vitamins, small quantities of carbohydrates and other bioactive components. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2009 [4] estimated that meat consumption has grown with increase in population. The average global per capita meat consumption is 42.1 kg/year with 82.9 kg/year in developed and 31.1 kg/year in developing countries in a recommended daily animal sourced protein per capita of 50 kg per year. Milk on the other hand is consumed in various forms: liquid, cheese, powder, and cream at a global per capita consumption of 108 kg per person per year which is way below the FAO, 2011 [5] recommended daily consumption of 200 kg. Some poor countries may not be able to sustain these levels of meat and milk requirement, leading to malnutrition. Demand for meat and milk production is also expected to double in 2050 in developing countries, where population is expected to double. Thus, increasing production and the safe processing and marketing of meat and milk, and their products are big challenges for livestock producers. Biotechnology is being harnessed in various aspects of the livestock industry [6] to hasten breed development for improved animal health and welfare, enhanced reproduction, and improved nutritional quality and safety of animal derived foods.

An observer who receives an unknown quantum state, from a set of nonorthogonal states, cannot perfectly retrodicts which state he got. Furthermore in the act of trying to reveal the identity of the quantum state, the observer will inevitably alter the state. Obviously there is a trade-off between maximal extraction of information and minimal disturbance of the state. E.g. if the observer applies the best possible measurement strategy allowed by quantum mechanics by which he gains maximal information, the state will be maximally disturbed and vice versa. The fundamental and intriguing features of this trade-off have fuelled an explosion of research since the early days of quantum mechanics. Recently, however this research has become of practical relevance since it underpins the security of quantum key distribution schemes.

— Malaria is a major public health problem caused by Plasmodium falciparum, a parasite that infects red blood cells. Recently, several polyphenolic compounds have been reported capable of preventing the progression of malaria parasite. This observation may be related to NAD (P) H: quinon oxidoreductase: a flavoprotein responsible for catalyzing two-electron reduction and detoxification of quinones and their derivatives. In this study the 2123 bp of the 5 ` upstream of the first transcription start site was successfully isolated. Based on the bioinformatic program, several regulatory regions such as Antioxidant Response Element (ARE) may be responsible for the direct regulation of polyphenols on this enzyme. It was predicted at-477 from the first transcription start site. Upon isolation, this fragment was used in a cloning process into the pGL3 Basic vector and transformed to E.coli DH5α competent cells.

Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) infection is a major limitation to apple fruit quality and causes huge economic losses. In surveys of apple orchards in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, fruits with dappling symptoms were noticed. ASSVd was detected from these fruits and molecularly characterized. Ten clones from three isolates were sequenced, of which seven were new sequence variants of ASSVd. The clones had significant sequence variability (94–100%) with each other. Variability was more common in the pathogenic domain of the viroid genome. Four of the clones were 330 nucleotides (nt) long, and the other six had an additional nucleotide. Phylogenetic analysis showed close affinity of the present isolates with some Chinese and Korean isolates. The study reports seven new variants of ASSVd and also provides the first molecular evidence of viroid infection (ASSVd) in apple in India.

The importance of protein phosphorylations during meiotic maturation (transition from prophase I to metaphase II) of oocytes is documented by the fact that the inhibition of the M-phase kinases, cdc2k or MAPK, arrests the oocytes in the GV stage. A detailed knowledge of the targets of these kinases during this stage of development is still missing. Therefore, we have analyzed the proteome of bovine oocytes by high resolution 2D-gel electrophoresis to detect differences in the expression and phosphorylation state of proteins in the course of in vitro maturation (IVM). Bovine oocytes were matured for different times in TCM 199 containing 3% BSA and 300 oocytes each in GV stage (0-h maturation), in GVBD/M I (10-h maturation) or in M II stage (240 h maturation) were separated on the gels. The proteins were visualized by staining them with silver or with the fluorescence dye Sypro Ruby, and phosphorylated proteins were detected by Western Blotting with Ser-, Thr-, or Tyr-phosphorylation specific antibodies or by staining with the phosphoprotein specific fluorescence dye Pro-Q Diamond. Gels made from oocytes at the above mentioned maturation stages were compared by a computerized gel-overlay software program (2D Decodon, Greitswald, Germany). The overall protein synthesis was statistically analysed by ANOVA (SigmaStat, Ekrath, Germany), pairwise multiple comparison procedure. Only distinct spots with a difference greater than 30% in their optical densities were considered to be differently expressed or phosphorylated. The results showed a three-fold increase in the rate of overall protein synthesis (p 0.05) during GVBD. Newly synthesized proteins were detected mainly in the higher molecular weight (MW) range (60-80 kDa), and protein degradations were found mainly in the lower MW range (20-40 kDa) after GVBD. Preliminary data obtained by analyzing the phosphorylation pattern showed that obviously no phosphorylated proteins could be detected in the GV-stage oocytes. Phosphorylation of different proteins was observed at the time of GVBD after 6 to 10 h IVM, concomitantly with the activation of cdc2k and MAPK. A maximum of phosphorylated proteins was observed in metaphase II. The first results obtained by performing peptide mass fingerprinting using MALDI-Tof showed that members of the family of heat-shock proteins, ribosomal proteins and putative zinc finger proteins (transcription regulators) were differently expressed or phosphorylated during IVM.