Polyploidization belong to principal evolutionary mechanisms in plants. Although it is rather rare in the family Apiaceae, there are several interesting polyploid complexes here. The present study deals with Libanotis pyrenaica, species three previously reported ploidy levels, namely diploid (2n = 2x = 22), tetraploid (2n = 4 x = 44) and most likely very rare triploid (2n = 3x = 33). The present study aims at geographical pattern of ploidal diversity in central Europe, genetic variation and selected biological features of this species. Flow cytometru, analysis of two chloroplast DNA markers (trnF-trnL and cp018-cp020), morphometrics and in vitro germination experiments were used. The tetraploid cytotype occurs throughout the studied area; in the Czech Republic it was found in the České středohoří Mts., southern Bohemia and Moravia, in Slovakia it especially in the Carpathian mountains in western and central parts of the country and in the Pieniny Mts. in the northeast. Tetraploid cytotype occurs mainly in central-east Europe; in the Czech Republic it is common in the lowlands along the river of Labe and locally in Moravia; in Slovakia it was found along the river of Váh, in the Slovenské rudohorie Mts. and in the Belanské Tatry Mts. A mixed-ploidy population (2x, 4x) was discovered in southern...

Des progrès importants ont été obtenus dans les principales populations porcines pour les caractères inclus dans l'objectif de reproduction, à savoir la croissance, l'efficacité alimentaire, la composition de la carcasse et, dans les lignées maternelles, la prolificité des truies. Les animaux sélectionnés pour une forte efficacité productive peuvent être particulièrement sensibles à des problèmes comportementaux, physiologiques ou immunologiques, c'est-à-dire être moins robustes. Ces effets défavorables de la sélection sont souvent difficiles à mettre en évidence, car les caractères correspondants ne sont pas systématiquement enregistrés dans les programmes de sélection. L'utilisation d’un stock de sperme congelé est une méthode élégante pour estimer les évolutions génétiques pour un grand nombre de caractères (habituellement non enregistrés). Deux groupes expérimentaux (L77 et L98) ont été produits par l'insémination de truies LW, nées en 1997-1998, soit avec du sperme congelé stocké à partir des verrats LW de 1977, soit avec du sperme frais de verrats nés en 1998. Cette étude a montré que deux décennies de sélection ont permis des progrès importants pour les principaux caractères d'intérêt, mais ont également affecté de façon défavorable des caractères tels que la longévité, le risque de mortalité, la variabilité de caractères, qui suggèrent un effet défavorable de la sélection sur la robustesse des porcs. Nos résultats soulignent la nécessité d'intégrer des caractères liés à la robustesse dans l'objectif de sélection des populations porcines. Il est donc nécessaire de poursuivre les recherches afin de mieux caractériser les différentes composantes de la robustesse et leur impact sur l’efficience, le bien-être et la santé des porcs afin de pouvoir définir les objectifs de sélection les plus pertinents pour l’avenir. / Large improvements have been obtained in major pig populations for traits included in the breeding goal, i.e. growth, feed efficiency, carcass composition and, in maternal lines, sow prolificacy. Animals selected for high production efficiency may in particular be more sensitive to behavioral, physiological, or immunological problems, I.e., be less robust. These adverse effects of selection are often difficult to reveal, as corresponding traits are not routinely recorded in breeding programs. The use of stored frozen semen has been shown to be an elegant method to estimate genetic trends for a large number of (usually not recorded) traits. Two experimental groups (L77 and L98) were produced by inseminating French Large White (LW) sows born in 1997-1998 with either stored frozen semen from the above-mentioned 1977 LW boars or with fresh semen from LW boars born in 1998. This study has shown that 2 decades of selection have resulted in large gains for major traits of interest, but have also adversely affected traits such as longevity, risk of mortality, trait variability, which tend to indicate an unfavorable effect of selection on pig robustness. Our results stress the necessity to integrate robustness related traits in the breeding goal of pig populations. Thus, further research is needed to better characterize the different components of robustness and their impact on pig efficiency, welfare and health to be able to define the most relevant breeding objectives for the future.

MSCAGR (Animal Science) / Department of Animal Science / The Boer goat (Capra hircus) is one of the most desirable goat breeds for meat production. The impact of cryopreservation on the viability of its semen depends on the extenders, freezing and thawing methods. This study evaluated the effects on sperm viability in Boer goat semen extended using Bioxcell, Biladyl and Ham’s F10, and frozen in semen straws placed on a rack at 4, 5, 6 or 7 cm above the surface of liquid nitrogen. After storage in liquid nitrogen for 7 days, the frozen semen was thawed at 37 oC for 30 seconds or 90 oC for 5 seconds. Samples of sperm were also frozen to -196 oC in a programmable freezer, as the control regime for the freezing treatments. Sperm morphology, motility and viability were evaluated using the computer aided sperm analysis (CASA) system in a randomised design in which the treatments were in a 3 (extender) X 5 (freezing regime) and X 2 (thawing regime) factorial arrangement. The extenders Bioxcell and Biladyl were affected in the total motility, progressive motility and static (P<0.01), the motility was overall maintained only in straws placed at 5 cm above the liquid nitrogen level, with significant difference for the interaction extender X freezing regime in the total motility (p<0.01), non-progressive motility (p<0.05) and progressive motility (p<0.01), the 37 oC for 30 sec thawing regime had significantly more (P<0.05) in cut-head spermatozoa. Ham’s F10 extender had significantly lower normal spermatozoa (P<0.05) compare to Biladyl and Bioxcell extenders. In conclusion, the extender type, freezing and thawing regime were important factors for consideration in goat semen / NRF

Initially mycoheterotrophic plants have recently been declining in the wild, even without apparent causes. They are affected by a number of biotic and abiotic factors. The aim of this work is to investigate how selected factors, such as nitrate or symbiotic fungi, may influence their distribution in nature. In particular, the work applies in vitro experiments, molecular determination of fungal symbionts and stable isotope analyses. It describes both the effects of abiotic factor, specifically nitrate, and biotic interactions of initially mycoheterotrophic plants with fungal symbionts. The inhibition of germination by extremely low concentrations of nitrate in asymbiotic in vitro cultures was observed in several orchid species. The degree of sensitivity of each species to nitrate corresponds with the nitrate content of the soil and the nutrient availability requirements of the species according to Ellenberg indicator values. The inhibitory effect of nitrate on orchid germination was also observed in symbiotic in vitro cultures. Out of five tested fungal strains, only one Ceratobasidium was capable of eliminating the inhibitory effect of nitrate. Furthermore, the work reveals that green mixotrophic orchids use photosynthates to nourish the aboveground parts, whereas the belowground parts are...

The goal of this long-term study was to better understand the reproductive biology of the female bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and provide a hypothesis for how dolphins may communicate reproductive readiness to one another. Utilizing conditioned dolphins in aquaria, this dissertation examined several previously unknown aspects of dolphin reproduction, including ovarian follicular dynamics during the luteinizing hormone surge, urinary prolactin levels, estrus behavior, vaginal fluid arboriform arrangement, in-situ vaginal and cervical anatomy during estrus, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) of urine samples to identify proteins and peptides that may be used in chemical communication, and a review and anatomical analysis of dolphin vibrassal crypts. The diffusely seasonal dolphin estrous cycle is not controlled by photoperiod and has a 10-day follicular and 20-day luteal phase. A brief ovulatory LH surge is followed by ovulation within 48 hours. An ethogram of 20 reproductive behaviors was developed, and all occurrences of reproductive behavior were analyzed during conceptive estrous cycles. A novel form of standing heat estrus, termed immobility, was observed, and estrus dolphins displayed genital nuzzling, active and passive mounting with other females, and an increase of standing heat intensity as LH levels rose. Prolactin plays a role in pregnancy maintenance, mammary development, allo-mothering behavior, lactation, and lactational anestrus. Dolphins are similar to sows where weaning causes a return to estrus, and in the boar effect, where days to ovulation are shortened in the presence of a mature male. Dolphin vaginal fluid showed crystallization arrangements with large open mesh patterns, conducive to sperm transport, during the estrogenic follicular phase, and closed mesh during the luteal phase. RP-HPLC analysis revealed that urine contained large amounts of peptides and proteins with peaks that change throughout the estrous cycle and with changes in social grouping. Remnant vibrissae from dolphin follicular crypts were sectioned, and it was hypothesized that trigeminal nerve endings could act similarly to those found in the nasal mucosa of terrestrial species and respond to chemical stimuli. This study provides new data to better understand the reproductive biology of a holaquatic mammal.

Urogenital disorders, including cryptorchidism, hypospadias, and reduced semen quality, represent significant congenital and developmental challenges in male reproductive health. While maternal smoking during pregnancy is a well-established risk factor, emerging evidence indicates that paternal smoking may also have adverse effects on male offspring’s reproductive development. This systematic review assessed the impact of paternal cigarette smoke exposure before and during pregnancy on the incidence of various urogenital disorders. By synthesizing data from five critical studies, we found that paternal smoking was associated with a 3.8-fold increased risk of cryptorchidism and hypospadias, a 1.26-fold reduction in semen quality, and potential epigenetic changes in sperm that could elevate the risk of future reproductive health issues, including testicular cancer. These findings suggested that paternal smoking may lead to DNA damage, hormonal disruptions, and oxidative stress, which negatively affect male reproductive outcomes. Highlighting the importance of paternal smoking cessation during the preconception and prenatal periods, this review provided evidence to inform public health strategies aimed at reducing the incidence of male urogenital disorders. The insights gathered from this review support the need for targeted interventions and educational programs to minimize prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke, with the potential to improve reproductive health outcomes in future generations.

This thesis is a biosystematic study focusing on the taxonomy and variability of selected taxa of the genus Sorbus, one of the most diverse and taxonomically complicated plant groups in Europe. Classical and modern biosystematic methods - comparative study, chromosome counting, analysis of nuclear microsatellite markers, flow cytometry, and traditional multivariate and outline morphometric analyses were used to assess the morphological, karyological and genetic variability of the genus. The final synthesis of these approaches led to the description of several new taxa (species, hybrids and a subgenus) and the correction of several taxonomic misinterpretations. To reveal ongoing evolutionary processes responsible for the generation of the observed variability, the reproductive modes of 42 Sorbus taxa were examined using flow-cytometric seed and pollen screens. Apart from revealing major trends, the study estimates the frequency of rare events and provides several novel conclusions that are relevant both specifically to Sorbus/Rosaceae and to apomixis in general.

A population of a critically endangered species Spiranthes spiralis was discovered in 1980 in the National Natural Monument Pastviště u Fínů near village Albrechtice, close to Sušice city. Since 1985 the number of flowering individuals in this population has been annually monitored. Since autumn 1998 all the specimen found there have been marked and biometrically measured. During these periods (12 or 26 years, respectively), large year-on-year fluctuations in the number of flowering plants and in the survival of the individual rosettes have been recorded. The main aim of my work was to assess the effect of weather conditions (temperature, precipitation, the number of days of snow) on the population dynamics and on the fitness of plants (leaf area, probability of flowering and probability of death). The year-round lower temperature and the wet end of autumn during the previous year (t-1) together with the wet spring of the following year (t) had a positive effect on the leaf area during the period of maximal rosette growth (end May in the year t). The probability of flowering was positively affected by the lower temperatures in May and June in the previous year (t-1) and in August just before flowering (year t). The probability of death (in the year t) was increased when the March precipitation (in t) and October temperatures (in t-1) were low. The average number of seeds in the capsule was 1528 ? 885 (s.d.). The number of flowers was positively correlated with the number of mature capsules. However, it did not affect the ratio of mature capsules. Capsules developed on average from 44% ? 24.6 % (s.d.) of the flowers. The average life time of individual plant cohorts was 4.7 years. The number of rosettes per each position was variable from 1 to 7 rosettes (73.2% positions had only 1 rosette). The annual life cycle of the underground organs is described at the end of the thesis.

Though succession is a widely studied process, there are only a few reports dealing with changes in plant functional types in the course of succession. Even fewer studies are dealing with agricultural, wet meadows, which are under continuous impact of mowing. The aim of this work is to fill this gap. The studied area is situated in south part of CHKO Slavkovský Les (region of Karlovy Vary, West Bohemia). In previous works grasslands on arable field after 15, 35 and 55 years after abandoned and continual grasslands in last 100 years were detected from historical agriculture maps. The releves on all types of grassland were made and the species pool was investigated. I this work I investigate the functional types and live-history traits of these species and I also look for Ellenberger values and changes of abiotic environment. The result suggests that the late - successional species are long-lived and have slower live cycle (they mature later). Their seeds are less persistent and have worse dispersal ability. Their seedlings are more viable and the species invest more to aboveground biomass than to underground. Late-successional species also flower earlier and shorter time, what seems to be an adaptation to mowing. I found no relationship between successional age in which the species occur and seed mass,...

Democratic and accountable policing is one of the hallmarks of democracy. In a healthy democracy, a police service exists to protect and support the rights of its community by successfully listening to those who are laying complaints and resolving to assist them by bringing the perpetrators to the grinding wheels of justice. Encouraging and ensuring that police officials utilise the most modern means of investigation such as the DNA technology, provides the necessary balance to the exercise of professional discretion and heightened conviction rate by the police officials. The utilisation of biological evidence in investigation of rape cases is such a modern intervention – a way of providing insulation against internal and external interference with the proper and successful investigation of rape cases. / Forensic Investigation / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)