11/29/2017

New paper accepted in The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE)



A new paper with the first authorship of Zoran Marinović was accepted for publication in The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), entitled `Cryopreservation of zebrafish spermatogonia by whole testes needle immersed ultra-rapid cooling`

Marinović Z., Lujić J., Kása E., Csenki Zs., Urbányi B., Horváth Á. 2017. Cryopreservation of zebrafish spermatogonia by whole testes needle immersed ultra-rapid cooling. The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE). In press. DOI: 10.3791/56118

ABSTRACT
Current trends in science and biotechnology lead to creation of thousands of new lines in model organisms thereby leading to the necessity for new methods for safe storage of genetic resources beyond the common practices of keeping breeding colonies. The main purpose of this study was to adapt the needle immersed vitrification (NIV) procedure to cryopreserve whole zebrafish testes. Cryopreservation of early-stage germ cells by whole testes NIV offers possibilities for the storage of zebrafish genetic resources, especially since after transplantation they can mature into both male and female gametes. Testes were excised, pinned on an acupuncture needle, equilibrated in two cryoprotective media (equilibration solution containing 1.5 M methanol and 1.5 M propylene glycol; and vitrification solution containing 3 M dimethyl sulfoxide and 3 M propylene glycol) and plunged into liquid nitrogen. Samples were warmed in a series of three consequent warming solutions. The main advantages of this technique are (1) the lack of spermatozoa after digestion of warmed testes thus facilitating downstream manipulations; (2) ultra-rapid cooling enabling the optimal exposure of tissues to liquid nitrogen therefore maximizing the cooling and reducing the required concentration of cryoprotectants, thereby reducing their toxicity; (3) synchronous exposure of several testes to cryoprotectants and liquid nitrogen; and (4) repeatability demonstrated by obtaining viability of above 50% in five different zebrafish strains.

11/21/2017

Work on pikeperch



In the period between 13th and 15th November Jelena and Zoran were at National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Research Institute for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Szatvas. They worked together with Uroš Ljubobratović, Research Fellow at that Institute. The main aim of this visit was testing different protocols for conservation of genetic material of pikeperch.  






11/14/2017

Master thesis defense of Jovana Lovren



One of our students from Serbia, Jovana Lovren, successfuly finished and defended her Master thesis `Cryopreservation of spermatogonia in Common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)` at the Department of Biology and Ecology of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia. She spent with us more than one month working in our laboratories as well as on field in Hungary and Slovenia. We are  proud on our collaboration and want to congratulate Jovana.
Ákos and Jelena together with dr Desanka Kostić and dr Nebojša Andrić were members of the defense committee, while dr Željko Popović was the supervisor.

Jovana during defense
Committee members (from the left: Jelena Lujić, Ákos Horváth, Desanka Kostić, Željko Popović and Nebojša Andrić )
MSc Jovana Lovren
Jovana with Željko and Jelena after defense

11/02/2017

4th World Congress of Reproductive Biology



During September, Jelena and Zoran participated at the 4th World Congress of Reproductive Biology organized by the Society for Reproduction and Development and partners in Okinawa, JAPAN.
We presented results of our collaborative work with colleagues from Japan, Czech Republic and Slovenia on two posters: 

Marinović Z., Lujić J., Kása E., Li Q., Yoshizaki G., Franěk R., Kašpar V., Urbányi B., Horváth Á. 2017. Cryopreservation of spermatogonial stem cells from cyprinid fish species. [Abstract] 4th World Congress of Reproductive Biology (WCRB 2017); 27-29.9.2017; Okinawa, Japan. P6-103.

Lujić J., Marinović Z., Sušnik-Bajec S., Kása E., Urbányi B., Horváth Á. 2017. Cryopreservation and xenotransplantation of germ stem cells of European salmonid species. [Abstract] 4th World Congress of Reproductive Biology (WCRB 2017); 27-29.9.2017; Okinawa, Japan. P6-48.

Okinawa Convention Center
Okinawa Convention Center main hall
Reproductive technology and stem cells session
Poster session
Jelena with her poster
with our dear colleague Somfai Tamás from 
NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Tsukuba, Japan
Zoran with his poster
View from Okinawa Convention Center