Search results for " Genetically Modified"

Abdominal-A mediated repression of Cyclin E expression during cell-fate specification in the Drosophila central nervous system

2009

Homeotic/Hox genes are known to specify a given developmental pathway by regulating the expression of downstream effector genes. During embryonic CNS development of Drosophila, the Hox protein Abdominal-A (AbdA) is required for the specification of the abdominal NB6-4 lineage. It does so by down regulating the expression of the cell cycle regulator gene Dcyclin E (CycE). CycE is normally expressed in the thoracic NB6-4 lineage to give rise to mixed lineage of neurons and glia, while only glial cells are produced from the abdominal NB6-4 lineage due to the repression of CycE by AbdA. Here we investigate how AbdA represses the expression of CycE to define the abdominal fate of a single NB6-4 …

A glial amino-acid transporter controls synapse strength and courtship in Drosophila

2008

1097-6256 (Print) Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Mate choice is an evolutionarily critical decision that requires the detection of multiple sex-specific signals followed by central integration of these signals to direct appropriate behavior. The mechanisms controlling mate choice remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the glial amino-acid transporter genderblind controls whether Drosophila melanogaster males will attempt to mate with other males. Genderblind (gb) mutant males showed no alteration in heterosexual courtship or copulation, but were attracted to normally unappealing male species-specific chemosensory cues. As a resul…

Morphological Characterization of the Entire Interneuron Population Reveals Principles of Neuromere Organization in the Ventral Nerve Cord ofDrosophi…

2011

Decisive contributions to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of the nervous system have been made by studies performed at the level of single, identified cells in the fruit flyDrosophila. While all the motor neurons and glial cells in thoracic and abdominal segments of theDrosophilaembryo have been individually identified, few of the interneurons, which comprise the vast majority of cells in the CNS, have been characterized at this level. We have applied a single cell labeling technique to carry out a detailed morphological characterization of the entire population of interneurons in abdominal segments A1–A7. Based on the definition of a set of spatial parameters…

The commonly used marker ELAV is transiently expressed in neuroblasts and glial cells in theDrosophilaembryonic CNS

2007

Glial cells in the Drosophila embryonic nervous system can be monitored with the marker Reversed-polarity (Repo), whereas neurons lack Repo and express the RNA-binding protein ELAV (Embryonic Lethal, Abnormal Vision). Since the first description of the ELAV protein distribution in 1991 (Robinow and White), it is believed that ELAV is an exclusive neuronal and postmitotic marker. Looking at ELAV expression, we unexpectedly observed that, in addition to neurons, ELAV is transiently expressed in embryonic glial cells. Furthermore, it is transiently present in the proliferating longitudinal glioblast, and it is transcribed in embryonic neuroblasts. Likewise, elav-Gal4 lines, which are generally…

GAL4-responsive UAS- tau as a tool for studying the anatomy and development of the Drosophila central nervous system

1997

To improve the quality of cytoplasmic labelling of GAL4-expressing cells in Drosophila enhancer-trap and transgenic strains, a new GAL4-responsive reporter UAS-tau, which features a bovine tau cDNA under control of a yeast upstream activation sequence (UAS), was tested. Tau, a microtubule-associated protein, is distributed actively and evenly into all cellular processes. Monoclonal anti-bovine Tau antibody reveals the axonal structure of the labelled cells with detail similar to that of Golgi impregnation. We demonstrate that the UAS-tau system is especially useful for studying processes of differentiation and reorganisation of identified neurones during postembryonic development.

Up-regulation of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase enhances production of essential oils in transgenic spike lavender.

2006

Abstract Spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia) is an aromatic shrub cultivated worldwide for the production of essential oils. The major constituents of these oils are monoterpenes, which are obtained from isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate precursors through the plastidial methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway and/or the cytosolic mevalonate pathway. 1-Deoxy-d-xylulose-5-P synthase (DXS) catalyzes the first step of the MEP pathway. A cDNA coding for the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) DXS was constitutively expressed in spike lavender. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analyses revealed that transgenic plants accumulated significantly more essential oils compared…

Deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase is not a rate-determining enzyme for essential oil production in spike lavender

2014

[EN] Spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia) is an economically important aromatic plant producing essential oils, whose components (mostly monoterpenes) are mainly synthesized through the plastidial methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway. 1-Deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate (DXP) synthase (DXS), that catalyzes the first step of the MEP pathway, plays a crucial role in monoterpene precursors biosynthesis in spike lavender. To date, however, it is not known whether the DXP reductoisomerase (DXR), that catalyzes the conversion of DXP into MEP, is also a rate-limiting enzyme for the biosynthesis of monoterpenes in spike lavender. To investigate it, we generated transgenic spike lavender plants con…

Up-regulation of an N-terminal truncated 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase enhances production of essential oils and sterols in transgenic Lav…

2007

Spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia) essential oil is widely used in the perfume, cosmetic, flavouring and pharmaceutical industries. Thus, modifications of yield and composition of this essential oil by genetic engineering should have important scientific and commercial applications. We generated transgenic spike lavender plants expressing the Arabidopsis thaliana HMG1 cDNA, encoding the catalytic domain of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase (HMGR1S), a key enzyme of the mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway. Transgenic T0 plants accumulated significantly more essential oil constituents as compared to controls (up to 2.1- and 1.8-fold in leaves and flowers, respectively). Enhanced expression …

GM foods in Spanish newspapers.

2002

Differential salinity-induced variations in the activity of H+-pumps and Na+/H+ antiporters that are involved in cytoplasm ion homeostasis as a funct…

2011

The characterisation of cellular responses to salinity in staple crops is necessary for the reliable identification of physiological markers of salinity tolerance. Under saline conditions, variations in proton gradients that are generated by membrane-bound H⁺ pumps are crucial for maintaining cytoplasm homeostasis. We examined short (15 h) and longer term effects (4 days) of NaCl stress on the H⁺ pumping activities that are associated with the plasma membrane (P-ATPase) and the tonoplast (V-ATPase and V-PPase) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) callus lines that displayed different levels of NaCl tolerance and were established from two japonica rice cultivars. The applied stress conditions were base…