Search results for " Drosophila"
showing 10 items of 47 documents
Structural and transcriptional evidence of mechanotransduction in the Drosophila suzukii ovipositor
2020
Drosophila suzukii is an invasive pest that prefers to lay eggs in ripening fruits, whereas most closely related Drosophila species exclusively use rotten fruit as oviposition site. This behaviour is allowed by an enlarged and serrated ovipositor that can pierce intact fruit skin, and by multiple contact sensory systems (mechanosensation and taste) that detect the optimal egg-laying substrates. Here, we tested the hypothesis that bristles present in the D. suzukii ovipositor tip contribute to these sensory modalities. Analysis of the bristle ultrastructure revealed that four different types of cuticular elements (conical pegs type 1 and 2, chaetic and trichoid sensilla) are present on the t…
Inter- and intra-specific genomic divergence in Drosophila montana shows evidence for cold adaptation
2018
This work was supported by the Academy of Finland to AH (projects 132619 and 267244) and to MK (projects 268214 and 272927) and NERC (UK) funding to MGR (grants NE/E015255/1 and NE/J020818/1) and PhD studentship to DJP (NE/I528634/1). The genomes of species that are ecological specialists will likely contain signatures of genomic adaptation to their niche. However, distinguishing genes related to ecological specialism from other sources of selection and more random changes is a challenge. Here we describe the genome of Drosophila montana, which is the most extremely cold-adapted Drosophila species. We use branch tests to identify genes showing accelerated divergence in contrasts between col…
Reproductive site selection: evidence of an oviposition cue in a highly adaptive dipteran, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae)
2020
Abstract Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) is a vinegar fly species that originates from Eastern Asia and has spread throughout Europe and the Americas since its initial detection in United States in 2008. Its relatively large, sclerotized, and serrated ovipositor enables the ability to penetrate ripening fruits, providing a protected environment for its egg and larval stages. Because the mechanism of oviposition site selection of D. suzukii is a matter of hypothesis, the aim of the present study was to elucidate behavioral and chemical aspects of short-range ovipositional site selection within the context of D. suzukii reproductive biology. The preference of D. suzukii to lay eggs on artifici…
Genomic Analysis of European Drosophila melanogaster Populations Reveals Longitudinal Structure, Continent-Wide Selection, and Previously Unknown DNA…
2020
Genetic variation is the fuel of evolution, with standing genetic variation especially important for short-term evolution and local adaptation. To date, studies of spatiotemporal patterns of genetic variation in natural populations have been challenging, as comprehensive sampling is logistically difficult, and sequencing of entire populations costly. Here, we address these issues using a collaborative approach, sequencing 48 pooled population samples from 32 locations, and perform the first continent-wide genomic analysis of genetic variation in European Drosophila melanogaster. Our analyses uncover longitudinal population structure, provide evidence for continent-wide selective sweeps, ide…
Direct Sensing of Nutrients via a LAT1-like Transporter in Drosophila Insulin-Producing Cells
2016
Summary Dietary leucine has been suspected to play an important role in insulin release, a hormone that controls satiety and metabolism. The mechanism by which insulin-producing cells (IPCs) sense leucine and regulate insulin secretion is still poorly understood. In Drosophila, insulin-like peptides (DILP2 and DILP5) are produced by brain IPCs and are released in the hemolymph after leucine ingestion. Using Ca2+-imaging and ex vivo cultured larval brains, we demonstrate that IPCs can directly sense extracellular leucine levels via minidiscs (MND), a leucine transporter. MND knockdown in IPCs abolished leucine-dependent changes, including loss of DILP2 and DILP5 in IPC bodies, consistent wit…
Role of the HIPPO pathway as potential key player in the cross talk between oncology and cardiology.
2021
The HIPPO pathway (HP) is a highly conserved kinase cascade that affects organ size by regulating proliferation, cell survival and differentiation. Discovered in Drosophila melanogaster to early 2000, it immediately opened wide frontiers in the field of research. Over the last years the field of knowledge on HP is quickly expanding and it is thought will offer many answers on complex pathologies. Here, we summarized the results of several studies that have investigated HP signaling both in oncology than in cardiology field, with an overview on future perspectives in cardiology research.
NOseq: amplicon sequencing evaluation method for RNA m6A sites after chemical deamination
2020
Abstract Methods for the detection of m6A by RNA-Seq technologies are increasingly sought after. We here present NOseq, a method to detect m6A residues in defined amplicons by virtue of their resistance to chemical deamination, effected by nitrous acid. Partial deamination in NOseq affects all exocyclic amino groups present in nucleobases and thus also changes sequence information. The method uses a mapping algorithm specifically adapted to the sequence degeneration caused by deamination events. Thus, m6A sites with partial modification levels of ∼50% were detected in defined amplicons, and this threshold can be lowered to ∼10% by combination with m6A immunoprecipitation. NOseq faithfully d…
Modeling the insect mushroom bodies: application to a delayed match-to-sample task.
2013
Despite their small brains, insects show advanced capabilities in learning and task solving. Flies, honeybees and ants are becoming a reference point in neuroscience and a main source of inspiration for autonomous robot design issues and control algorithms. In particular, honeybees demonstrate to be able to autonomously abstract complex associations and apply them in tasks involving different sensory modalities within the insect brain. Mushroom Bodies (MBs) are worthy of primary attention for understanding memory and learning functions in insects. In fact, even if their main role regards olfactory conditioning, they are involved in many behavioral achievements and learning capabilities, as …
A spiking network for body size learning inspired by the fruit fly
2013
The concept of peripersonal space is an interesting research topics for psychologists, neurobiologists and for robotic applications. A living being can learn the representation of its own body to take the correct behavioral decision when interacting with the world. To transfer these important learning mechanisms on bio-robots, simple and efficient solutions can be found in the insect world. In this paper a neural-based model for body-size learning is proposed taking into account the results obtained in experiments with fruit flies. Simulations and experimental results on a roving platform are reported and compared with the biological counterpart.
aPKCζ cortical loading is associated with Lgl cytoplasmic release and tumor growth in Drosophila and human epithelia
2007
Atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) and Lethal giant larvae (Lgl) regulate apical-basal polarity in Drosophila and mammalian epithelia. At the apical domain, aPKC phosphorylates and displaces Lgl that, in turn, maintains aPKC inactive at the basolateral region. The mutual exclusion of these two proteins seems to be crucial for the correct epithelial structure and function. Here we show that a cortical aPKC loading induces Lgl cytoplasmic release and massive overgrowth in Drosophila imaginal epithelia, whereas a cytoplasmic expression does not alter proliferation and epithelial overall structure. As two aPKC isoforms (iota and zeta) exist in humans and we previously showed that Drosophila Lgl i…