serrano gene and NaCl perception

Gustatory information is considered to be important for animals to control behavior when they seek for food or partners. 60 members of gustatory receptor (Gr) genes have been identified in Drosophila.. However little is now about mechanisms of taste perception and transduction in response to stimuli. In order to identify new genes involved in gustation, we performed a genetic screen using Gal4-UAS system based on expression of the reporter gene in chemosensory organs and gustatory defects in larvae and adults. We identified the serrano (sano) gene, which encodes a 778 aa protein with a leucine zipper domain, a putative transmembrane domain, and putative bipartite nuclear localization signal…

serrano gene and NaCl perception in Drosophila

Résumé de poster présenté au congrès Neurofly à Manchester en Septembre 2010.; International audience

Effect of pH on binding affinity by JHBPs, a group of insect proteins related to the vertebrate CETP/BPI/PLUNC family

Poster

Juvenile hormone esterase as a tool for the study of juvenile hormones in Drosophila

International audience; Juvenile hormone esterase as a tool for the study of juvenile hormones in Drosophila. ICCE 17. international congress of comparative endocrinology

Desat expression in neural and non-neural tissues separately affects perception and emission of sex pheromones in Drosophila

desat1 and the Evolution of Pheromonal Communication in Drosophila

1749-6632 (Electronic) 0077-8923; The evolution of communication is a fundamental biological problem. The genetic control of the signal and its reception must be tightly coadapted, especially in interindividual sexual communication. However, there is very little experimental evidence for tight genetic linkage connecting the emission of a signal and its reception. In Drosophila melanogaster, desat1 is the first known gene that simultaneously affects the emission and the perception of sex pheromones. Our experiments show that both aspects of pheromonal communication (the emission and the perception of sex pheromones) depend on distinct genetic control and may result from tissue-specific expre…

High-NaCl perception in drosophila melanogaster

Salt is a fundamental nutrient that is required for many physiological processes, including electrolyte homeostasis and neuronal activity. In mammals and Drosophila, the detection of NaCl induces two different behaviors: low-salt concentrations provide an attractive stimulus, whereas high-salt concentrations are avoided. We identified the gene called serrano (sano) as being expressed in the sensory organs of Drosophila larvae. A transgenic reporter line showed that sano was coexpressed with Gr66a in a subset of gustatory neurons in the terminal organ of third-instar larvae. The disruption of sano gene expression in gustatory neurons led to the specific loss of high-salt concentration avoida…

The cis-regulatory sequences required for expression of the Drosophila melanogaster adult cuticle gene ACP65A.

Post-embryonic development in insects requires successive molts. Molts are triggered by ecdysteroids, and the nature of the molt (larval, pupal or adult) is determined by juvenile hormones. The genes encoding cuticle proteins are targets of both classes of hormones, and therefore are interesting models to study hormone action at the molecular level. The Drosophila ACP65A cuticle gene is expressed exclusively during the synthesis of the adult exoskeleton, in epidermal domains synthesising flexible cuticle. We have examined the cis -regulatory sequences of ACP65A using phylogenetic comparisons and functional analysis, and find that only about 180 bp are essential, including an 81 bp intron. T…

Collisional mechanism of ligand release by Bombyx mori JHBP, a member of the TULIP / Takeout family of lipid transporters.

International audience; Juvenile hormones (JHs) regulate important processes in insects, such as postembryonic development and reproduction. In the hemolymph of Lepidoptera, these lipophilic sesquiterpenic hormones are transported from their site of synthesis to target tissues by high affinity carriers, the juvenile hormone binding proteins (JHBPs). Lepidopteran JHBPs belong to a recently uncovered, yet very ancient family of proteins sharing a common lipid fold (TULIP domain) and involved in shuttling various lipid ligands. One important, but poorly understood aspect of JHs action, is the mechanism of hormone transfer to or through the plasma membranes of target cells. Since many membrane-…