Search results for "Egan"
showing 10 items of 215 documents
Intrinsically disordered protein PID-2 modulates Z granules and is required for heritable piRNA-induced silencing in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo
2020
Abstract In Caenorhabditis elegans, the piRNA (21U RNA) pathway is required to establish proper gene regulation and an immortal germline. To achieve this, PRG‐1‐bound 21U RNAs trigger silencing mechanisms mediated by RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP)‐synthetized 22G RNAs. This silencing can become PRG‐1‐independent and heritable over many generations, a state termed RNA‐induced epigenetic gene silencing (RNAe). How and when RNAe is established, and how it is maintained, is not known. We show that maternally provided 21U RNAs can be sufficient for triggering RNAe in embryos. Additionally, we identify PID‐2, a protein containing intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), as a factor required …
Speciazione di Sn(II) in presenza di leganti O-donatori di interesse biologico
2010
Lo stagno è il ventiquattresimo elemento più abbondante nella crosta terrestre ed ha il più elevato numero di isotopi stabili (dieci). Generalmente questo elemento non viene annoverato tra gli inquinanti più importanti, in quanto lo stagno inorganico non risulta particolarmente tossico. Tuttavia, molti dei suoi sali lo sono. Infatti, la corrosione di contenitori in stagno da parte di cibi e bevande acide ha causato in passato numerosi intossicazioni ad opera di composti solubili di questo metallo. Inoltre, la bioalchilazione dello stagno inorganico porta alla formazione di composti ancor più nocivi per l’ambiente. Per tali ragioni, per esempio, la Food Standards Agency del Regno Unito ha im…
Adaptive reference-free compression of sequence quality scores
2014
Motivation: Rapid technological progress in DNA sequencing has stimulated interest in compressing the vast datasets that are now routinely produced. Relatively little attention has been paid to compressing the quality scores that are assigned to each sequence, even though these scores may be harder to compress than the sequences themselves. By aggregating a set of reads into a compressed index, we find that the majority of bases can be predicted from the sequence of bases that are adjacent to them and hence are likely to be less informative for variant calling or other applications. The quality scores for such bases are aggressively compressed, leaving a relatively small number at full reso…
Evolutionary relationships among the members of an ancient class of non-LTR retrotransposons found in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
1998
We took advantage of the massive amount of sequence information generated by the Caenorhabditis elegans genome project to perform a comprehensive analysis of a group of over 100 related sequences that has allowed us to describe two new C. elegans non-LTR retrotransposons. We named them Sam and Frodo. We also determined that several highly divergent subfamilies of both elements exist in C. elegans. It is likely that several master copies have been active at the same time in C. elegans, although only a few copies of both Sam and Frodo have characteristics that are compatible with them being active today. We discuss whether it is more appropriate under these circumstances to define only 2 elem…
Sponge proteins are more similar to those of Homo sapiens than to Caenorhabditis elegans
2000
We compared 42 phylogenetically conserved proteins from four marine sponges [Porifera] with almost the complete set of Caenorhabditis elegans proteins and all known proteins from humans. The majority of the sponge proteins are significantly more similar to human than to C. elegans orthologues/homologues. This finding reflects the accelerated evolutionary rate in the C. elegans lineage, since sponges split off first from the common ancestor of all multicellular animals. Furthermore, three sponge/human proteins were not found in C. elegans: (2–5)A synthetase, DNA repair helicase and lens βγ -crystallin. Sponges are the source of the most ancient proteins already present in the common ancestor…
Toxicological assessment of mesoporous silica particles in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
2018
[EN] Here we report the toxicological evaluation of mesoporous silica particles (MSPs) in the nematode C. elegans. Specifically, we have investigated the effect of bare micro- (M0) and nano-sized (N0) MSPs, and their corresponding functionalized particles with a starch derivative (Glu-N) (M1 and N1, respectively) on C. elegans ageing parameters. The toxicity of MSPs, their impact on C. elegans lifespan, movement capacity, progeny and ability to survive upon exposure to acute oxidative stress were assessed. This study demonstrated that both size particles assayed (M0 and N0), labeled with rhodamine and monitored through fluorescence microscopy, are ingested by the nematode. Moreover, toxicit…
Synaptic tetraspan vesicle membrane proteins are conserved but not needed for synaptogenesis and neuronal function in Caenorhabditis elegans
2006
Tetraspan vesicle membrane proteins (TVPs) comprise a major portion of synaptic vesicle proteins, yet their contribution to the synaptic vesicle cycle is poorly understood. TVPs are grouped in three mammalian gene families: physins, gyrins, and secretory carrier-associated membrane proteins (SCAMPs). In Caenorhabditis elegans , only a single member of each of these families exists. These three nematode TVPs colocalize to the same vesicular compartment when expressed in mammalian cells, suggesting that they could serve overlapping functions. To examine their function, C. elegans null mutants were isolated for each gene, and a triple mutant was generated. Surprisingly, these animals develop …
La scoperta, sistemazione e conservazione della grande Iscrizione di Gortina, nell'isola di Creta (1884-1921): la protezione delle testimonianze e le…
2013
La scoperta e la conservazione della Grande Iscrizione di Gortina a Creta, da parte degli studiosi italiani, fra la fine del XIX sec. e i primi decenni del XX sec., rappresentò un grande riconoscimento scientifico-culturale per la giovane nazione italiana. Nel passato, l’isola di Creta era stata legata alla Repubblica di Venezia e anche questo rapporto favorì l’invio a Creta del giovane epigrafista F. Halbherr, il quale fra notevoli peripezie rinvenne, assieme all’epigrafista tedesco E. Fabricius, la famosa l’iscrizione nell’antica città di Gortina. L’iscrizione, fra le più antiche e complete finora conosciute in tutta Europa, conteneva le norme sulla famiglia, l’eredità e in generale i dir…
Dietary Conversions and Forms of Life
2019
This paper regards the emergence of forms of life in the field of food and dietary choices. It aims at connecting meat-free diets with the notion of form of life, especially focussing on the moment of “conversion” from an omnivourous diet to vegetarianism or veganism. The semiotic mechanisms of transitions between forms of life connected to dietary regimens will be highlighted. How does the conversion happen? Like in spiritual and religious discourses, the conversion is often a striking event, a punctual episode in the subject’s life, affecting particularly his/her pathemic and sensorial spheres. In other cases, conversions imply complex and slow processes, affecting pragmatic and cognitive…
Protease-mediated processing of Argonaute proteins controls small RNA association
2020
SummarySmall RNA pathways defend the germlines of animals against selfish genetic elements and help to maintain genomic integrity. At the same time, their activity needs to be well-controlled to prevent silencing of ‘self’ genes. Here, we reveal a proteolytic mechanism that controls endogenous small interfering (22G) RNA activity in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline to protect genome integrity and maintain fertility. We find that WAGO-1 and WAGO-3 Argonaute (Ago) proteins are matured through proteolytic processing of their unusually proline-rich N-termini. In the absence of DPF-3, a P-granule-localized N-terminal dipeptidase orthologous to mammalian DPP8/9, processing fails, causing a cha…