Search results for "Drosophila melanogaster"

Functional Gustatory Role of Chemoreceptors in Drosophila Wings

2016

Summary: Neuroanatomical evidence argues for the presence of taste sensilla in Drosophila wings; however, the taste physiology of insect wings remains hypothetical, and a comprehensive link to mechanical functions, such as flight, wing flapping, and grooming, is lacking. Our data show that the sensilla of the Drosophila anterior wing margin respond to both sweet and bitter molecules through an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ levels. Conversely, genetically modified flies presenting a wing-specific reduction in chemosensory cells show severe defects in both wing taste signaling and the exploratory guidance associated with chemodetection. In Drosophila, the chemodetection machinery includes mechan…

Drosophila Food-Associated Pheromones: Effect of Experience, Genotype and Antibiotics on Larval Behavior

2016

International audience; Animals ubiquitously use chemical signals to communicate many aspects of their social life. These chemical signals often consist of environmental cues mixed with species-specific signals-pheromones-emitted by conspecifics. During their life, insects can use pheromones to aggregate, disperse, choose a mate, or find the most suitable food source on which to lay eggs. Before pupariation, larvae of several Drosophila species migrate to food sources depending on their composition and the presence of pheromones. Some pheromones derive from microbiota gut activity and these food-associated cues can enhance larval attraction or repulsion. To explore the mechanisms underlying…

STRIPAK Members Orchestrate Hippo and Insulin Receptor Signaling to Promote Neural Stem Cell Reactivation

2019

Summary Adult stem cells reactivate from quiescence to maintain tissue homeostasis and in response to injury. How the underlying regulatory signals are integrated is largely unknown. Drosophila neural stem cells (NSCs) also leave quiescence to generate adult neurons and glia, a process that is dependent on Hippo signaling inhibition and activation of the insulin-like receptor (InR)/PI3K/Akt cascade. We performed a transcriptome analysis of individual quiescent and reactivating NSCs harvested directly from Drosophila brains and identified the conserved STRIPAK complex members mob4, cka, and PP2A (microtubule star, mts). We show that PP2A/Mts phosphatase, with its regulatory subunit Widerbors…

2019

Cryptochromes are blue-light photoreceptor proteins, which provide input to circadian clocks. The cryptochrome from Drosophila melanogaster (DmCry) modulates the degradation of Timeless and itself. It is unclear how light absorption by the chromophore and the subsequent redox reactions trigger these events. Here, we use nano- to millisecond time-resolved x-ray solution scattering to reveal the light-activated conformational changes in DmCry and the related (6-4) photolyase. DmCry undergoes a series of structural changes, culminating in the release of the carboxyl-terminal tail (CTT). The photolyase has a simpler structural response. We find that the CTT release in DmCry depends on pH. Mutat…

Disarrangement of Endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria communication impairs Ca2+ homeostasis in FRDA

2020

AbstractFriedreich ataxia (FRDA) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by neuromuscular and neurological manifestations. It is caused by mutations in gene FXN, which results in loss of the mitochondrial protein frataxin. Endoplasmic Reticulum-mitochondria associated membranes (MAMs) are inter-organelle structures involved in the regulation of essential cellular processes, including lipid metabolism and calcium signaling. In the present study, we have analyzed in both, unicellular and multicellular models of FRDA, an analysis of calcium management and of integrity of MAMs. We observed that function of MAMs is compromised in our cellular model of FRDA, which was improved upon treatmen…

Interactions between the sexual identity of the nervous system and the social environment mediate lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster

2018

Sex differences in lifespan are ubiquitous, but the underlying causal factors remain poorly understood. Inter- and intrasexual social interactions are well known to influence lifespan in many taxa, but it has proved challenging to separate the role of sex-specific behaviours from wider physiological differences between the sexes. To address this problem, we genetically manipulated the sexual identity of the nervous system—and hence sexual behaviour—in Drosophila melanogaster, and measured lifespan under varying social conditions. Consistent with previous studies, masculinization of the nervous system in females induced male-specific courtship behaviour and aggression, while nervous system f…

An improvement of ComiR algorithm for microRNA target prediction by exploiting coding region sequences of mRNAs

2020

AbstractMicroRNA are small non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate the expression levels of messenger RNAs. MicroRNA regulation activity depends on the recognition of binding sites located on mRNA molecules. ComiR is a web tool realized to predict the targets of a set of microRNAs, starting from their expression profile. ComiR was trained with the information regarding binding sites in the 3’utr region, by using a reliable dataset containing the targets of endogenously expressed microRNA in D. melanogaster S2 cells. This dataset was obtained by comparing the results from two different experimental approaches, i.e., inhibition, and immunoprecipitation of the AGO1 protein--a comp…

Augļu mušas Drosophila melanogaster tēviņu agresīvās uzvedības saistība ar rauga daudzumu barībā

2022

Agresija ir svarīgs evolūcijas virzītājspēks. Dzīvnieki, kuri būs spējīgāki uzvarēt konfliktus varēs ar lielāku varbūtību nodot savus gēnus nākošajām paaudzēm. Tomēr kādi faktori ietekmē dzīvnieka varbūtību uzvarēt nav līdz galam noskaidrots. Teorētiskie modeļi un esošie pētījumi sniedz tikai virspusēju skatījumu. Dzīvnieki savas dzīves laikā būs pakļauti dažādiem vides faktoriem ar variējošu pakāpi, tomēr, ne visi būs vienlīdz nozīmīgi agresīvas uzvedības mainībā. Uzturs dzīvniekiem mainās dzīves laikā un attīstības sākumā optimālā barības vielu attiecība būs svarīga indivīda nākotnes izdzīvošanā un ģenētiskajā fitnesā, jo fiziskais fenotips visam mūžam veidojas tieši individuālās attīstīb…

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…

Calorie Restriction in Mammals and Simple Model Organisms

2014

Calorie restriction (CR), which usually refers to a 20–40% reduction in calorie intake, can effectively prolong lifespan preventing most age-associated diseases in several species. However, recent data from both human and nonhumans point to the ratio of macronutrients rather than the caloric intake as a major regulator of both lifespan and health-span. In addition, specific components of the diet have recently been identified as regulators of some age-associated intracellular signaling pathways in simple model systems. The comprehension of the mechanisms underpinning these findings is crucial since it may increase the beneficial effects of calorie restriction making it accessible to a broad…