Search results for " drosophila"

Fatty-acid preference changes during development in Drosophila melanogaster.

2011

WOS:000296521400044; International audience; Fatty-acids (FAs) are required in the diet of many animals throughout their life. However, the mechanisms involved in the perception of and preferences for dietary saturated and unsaturated FAs (SFAs and UFAs, respectively) remain poorly explored, especially in insects. Using the model species Drosophila melanogaster, we measured the responses of wild-type larvae and adults to pure SFAs (14, 16, and 18 carbons) and UFAs (C18 with 1, 2, or 3 double-bonds). Individual and group behavioral tests revealed different preferences in larvae and adults. Larvae preferred UFAs whereas SFAs tended to induce both a strong aversion and a persistent aggregation…

Drosophila adult and larval pheromones modulate larval food choice

2014

Insects use chemosensory cues to feed and mate. In Drosophila , the effect of pheromones has been extensively investigated in adults, but rarely in larvae. The colonization of natural food sources by Drosophila buzzatii and Drosophila simulans species may depend on species-specific chemical cues left in the food by larvae and adults. We identified such chemicals in both species and measured their influence on larval food preference and puparation behaviour. We also tested compounds that varied between these species: (i) two larval volatile compounds: hydroxy-3-butanone-2 and phenol (predominant in D. simulans and D. buzzatii , respectively), and (ii) adult cuticular hydrocarbons (CHs). Dro…

Developmental speed affects ecological stoichiometry and adult fat reserves in Drosophila melanogaster

2020

Abstract The elemental composition of organisms belongs to a suite of functional traits that change during development in response to environmental conditions. However, associations between adaptive variations in developmental speed and elemental body composition are not well understood. We compared body mass, elemental body composition, food uptake and fat metabolism of Drosophila melanogaster male fruit flies in relation to their larval development speed. Slowly developing flies had higher body carbon concentration than rapidly developing and intermediate flies. Rapidly developing flies had the highest body nitrogen concentration, while slowly developing flies had higher body nitrogen lev…

Emerging roles of hnRNP's in postranscriptional regulation: what can we learn from flies ?

2013

Emerging Roles for hnRNPs in post-transcriptional regulation: what can we learn from flies?

2014

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) are a highly conserved family of RNA-binding proteins able to associate with nascent RNAs in order to support their localization, maturation and translation. Research over this last decade has remarked the importance of gene regulatory processes at post-transcriptional level, highlighting the emerging roles of hnRNPs in several essential biological events. Indeed, hnRNPs are key factors in regulating gene expression, thus, having a number of roles in many biological pathways. Moreover, failure of the activities catalysed by hnRNPs affects various biological processes and may underlie several human diseases including cancer, diabetes and neur…

Software/Hardware Issues in Modelling Insect Brain Architecture

2011

The concept of cognitive abilities is commonly associated to humans and animals like mammals, birds and others. Nevertheless, in the last years several research groups have intensified the studies on insects that posses a much simpler brain structure even if they are able to show interesting memory and learning capabilities. In this paper a survey on some key results obtained in a joint research activity among Engineers and Neurogeneticians is reported. They were focussed toward the design and implementation of a model of the insect brain inspired by the Drosophila melanogaster. Particular attention was paid to the main neural centers the Mushroom Bodies and the Central Complex. Moreover a …

First-order visual interneurons distribute distinct contrast and luminance information across ON and OFF pathways to achieve stable behavior

2022

Source data of the paper Ketkar, Gür, Molina-Obando et al. 2022, eLife. We analyzed the behavioral contribution and physiological response properties of first order interneurons L1, L2 and L3 in the Drosophila melanogaster visual system. Data are sorted by figures and comprise either behavioral measurements of flies walking on an air-cushioned ball while being shown visual stimuli, or in vivo two photon microscopy recordings of L1-L3 calcium responses. Please find all relevant information to use the data in the README file. The code to analyze the data, either written in Matlab or Python, is found at https://github.com/silieslab/Ketkar-Gur-MolinaObando-etal2022