Search results for "Experimental Organism"
showing 10 items of 44 documents
Crowdsourced analysis of fungal growth and branching on microfluidic platforms
2021
Fungal hyphal growth and branching are essential traits that allow fungi to spread and proliferate in many environments. This sustained growth is essential for a myriad of applications in health, agriculture, and industry. However, comparisons between different fungi are difficult in the absence of standardized metrics. Here, we used a microfluidic device featuring four different maze patterns to compare the growth velocity and branching frequency of fourteen filamentous fungi. These measurements result from the collective work of several labs in the form of a competition named the “Fungus Olympics.” The competing fungi included five ascomycete species (ten strains total), two basidiomycete…
Development and characterization of an experimental model of diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rabbit
2017
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has become one of the main concerns for public health because of its link to cardiovascular disease. Murine models have been used to study the effect of MetS on the cardiovascular system, but they have limitations for studying cardiac electrophysiology. In contrast, the rabbit cardiac electrophysiology is similar to human, but a detailed characterization of the different components of MetS in this animal is still needed. Our objective was to develop and characterize a diet-induced experimental model of MetS that allows the study of cardiovascular remodeling and arrhythmogenesis. Male NZW rabbits were assigned to control (n = 15) or MetS group (n = 16), fed during 2…
Dysfunction of Oskyddad causes Harlequin-type ichthyosis-like defects in Drosophila melanogaster.
2020
Prevention of desiccation is a constant challenge for terrestrial organisms. Land insects have an extracellular coat, the cuticle, that plays a major role in protection against exaggerated water loss. Here, we report that the ABC transporter Oskyddad (Osy)—a human ABCA12 paralog—contributes to the waterproof barrier function of the cuticle in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. We show that the reduction or elimination of Osy function provokes rapid desiccation. Osy is also involved in defining the inward barrier against xenobiotics penetration. Consistently, the amounts of cuticular hydrocarbons that are involved in cuticle impermeability decrease markedly when Osy activity is reduced. …
Cell volume homeostatically controls the rDNA repeat copy number and rRNA synthesis rate in yeast
2021
[Abstract] The adjustment of transcription and translation rates to the changing needs of cells is of utmost importance for their fitness and survival. We have previously shown that the global transcription rate for RNA polymerase II in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is regulated in relation to cell volume. Total mRNA concentration is constant with cell volume since global RNApol II-dependent nascent transcription rate (nTR) also keeps constant but mRNA stability increases with cell size. In this paper, we focus on the case of rRNA and RNA polymerase I. Contrarily to that found for RNA pol II, we detected that RNA polymerase I nTR increases proportionally to genome copies and cell s…
Design of composite measure schemes for comparative severity assessment in animal-based neuroscience research: A case study focussed on rat epilepsy …
2020
PLOS ONE 15(5), e0230141 (2020). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0230141
Manipulating mtDNA in vivo reprograms metabolism via novel response mechanisms.
2019
Mitochondria have been increasingly recognized as a central regulatory nexus for multiple metabolic pathways, in addition to ATP production via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Here we show that inducing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) stress in Drosophila using a mitochondrially-targeted Type I restriction endonuclease (mtEcoBI) results in unexpected metabolic reprogramming in adult flies, distinct from effects on OXPHOS. Carbohydrate utilization was repressed, with catabolism shifted towards lipid oxidation, accompanied by elevated serine synthesis. Cleavage and translocation, the two modes of mtEcoBI action, repressed carbohydrate rmetabolism via two different mechanisms. DNA cleavage activ…
Identification of the essential protein domains for Mib2 function during the development of the Drosophila larval musculature and adult flight muscles
2016
The proper differentiation and maintenance of myofibers is fundamental to a functional musculature. Disruption of numerous mostly structural factors leads to perturbations of these processes. Among the limited number of known regulatory factors for these processes is Mind bomb2 (Mib2), a muscle-associated E3 ubiquitin ligase, which was previously established to be required for maintaining the integrity of larval muscles. In this study, we have examined the mechanistic aspects of Mib2 function by performing a detailed functional dissection of the Mib2 protein. We show that the ankyrin repeats, in its entirety, and the hitherto uncharacterized Mib-specific domains (MIB), are important for the…
Endovascular stentectomy using the snare over stent-retriever (SOS) technique: An experimental feasibility study
2017
PLoS one 12(5), e0178197 (2017). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0178197
Neuronal activity triggers uptake of hematopoietic extracellular vesicles in vivo
2019
Communication with the hematopoietic system is a vital component of regulating brain function in health and disease. Traditionally, the major routes considered for this neuroimmune communication are by individual molecules such as cytokines carried by blood, by neural transmission, or, in more severe pathologies, by the entry of peripheral immune cells into the brain. In addition, functional mRNA from peripheral blood can be directly transferred to neurons via extracellular vesicles (EVs), but the parameters that determine their uptake are unknown. Using varied animal models that stimulate neuronal activity by peripheral inflammation, optogenetics, and selective proteasome inhibition of dop…
Coincident airway exposure to low-potency allergen and cytomegalovirus sensitizes for allergic airway disease by viral activation of migratory dendri…
2019
Despite a broad cell-type tropism, cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an evidentially pulmonary pathogen. Predilection for the lungs is of medical relevance in immunocompromised recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation, in whom interstitial CMV pneumonia is a frequent and, if left untreated, fatal clinical manifestation of human CMV infection. A conceivable contribution of CMV to airway diseases of other etiology is an issue that so far attracted little medical attention. As the route of primary CMV infection upon host-to-host transmission in early childhood involves airway mucosa, coincidence of CMV airway infection and exposure to airborne environmental antigens is almost unavoidable. For i…