Search results for "flies"
showing 10 items of 85 documents
Comparative Genomics of the RBR Family, Including the Parkinson's Disease–Related Gene Parkin and the Genes of the Ariadne Subfamily
2002
Genes of the RBR family are characterized by the RBR signature (two RING finger domains separated by an IBR/DRIL domain). The RBR family is widespread in eukaryotes, with numerous members in animals (mammals, Drosophila, Caenorhabditis) and plants (Arabidopsis). But yeasts, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Schizosaccharomyces pombe, contain only two RBR genes. We determined the phylogenetic relationships and the most likely orthologs in different species of several family members for which functional data are available. These include: (1) parkin, whose mutations are involved in forms of familial Parkinson's disease; (2) the ariadne genes, recently characterized in Drosophila and mammals;…
Metabolic Networks of Sodalis glossinidius: A Systems Biology Approach to Reductive Evolution
2012
BackgroundGenome reduction is a common evolutionary process affecting bacterial lineages that establish symbiotic or pathogenic associations with eukaryotic hosts. Such associations yield highly reduced genomes with greatly streamlined metabolic abilities shaped by the type of ecological association with the host. Sodalis glossinidius, the secondary endosymbiont of tsetse flies, represents one of the few complete genomes available of a bacterium at the initial stages of this process. In the present study, genome reduction is studied from a systems biology perspective through the reconstruction and functional analysis of genome-scale metabolic networks of S. glossinidius.ResultsThe functiona…
Conservatism and novelty in the genetic architecture of adaptation in Heliconius butterflies.
2015
Understanding the genetic architecture of adaptive traits has been at the centre of modern evolutionary biology since Fisher; however, evaluating how the genetic architecture of ecologically important traits influences their diversification has been hampered by the scarcity of empirical data. Now, high-throughput genomics facilitates the detailed exploration of variation in the genome-to-phenotype map among closely related taxa. Here, we investigate the evolution of wing pattern diversity in Heliconius, a clade of neotropical butterflies that have undergone an adaptive radiation for wing-pattern mimicry and are influenced by distinct selection regimes. Using crosses between natural wing-pat…
Endosymbiont communities in Bemisia tabaci: a metagenomic approach
2014
Este trabajo es parte de un programa de investigación que tiene como objetivo dilucidar la evolución de las bacterias endosimbiontes utilizando los consorcios insecto-bacteria como modelo. Los diferentes estudios realizados sobre los insectos y sus bacterias endosimbiontes han arrojado luz sobre los cambios ocurridos tras la adquisición de una forma de vida intracelular, así cómo la interacción entre diferentes endosimbiontes formando comunidades endosimbioticas. Dos son los objetivos principales de este trabajo. El primera (capítulos “Portiera y su socio Hamiltonella” y “El tercer pasajero: Cardinium cBtQ1)” trata de analizar y describir las relaciones de la comunidad endosimbiótica en B. …
An overview of the Ephydridae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia
2019
Despite the species richness of Ephydridae world-wide (2000 species) and its prominent environmental roles as a minor pest and as a food for wildlife, only 13 species have been recorded from Saudi Arabia. Between 2012 and 2016, a biodiversity study of Diptera was conducted at Jazan, Asir, and Najran in south-western Saudi Arabia, at 22 sites, was performed mainly using Malaise traps and sweep nets. In this study, 43 known species of Ephydridae were identified, 37 of them for the first time from southwestern Saudi Arabia and 16 from Arabian Peninsula. This brings the total number of Ephydridae species in Saudi Arabia to 49 (including previous records). There were a further four species, whic…
On the analysis of viability data: an example with Drosophila.
1990
Larval competition experiments involving two wild type and eight mutant strains of Drosophila melanogaster have been carried out following the substitution procedure proposed by Mather and Caligari (1981). Our main goal has been to compare the competitive abilities of two phenotypically indistinguishable strains (wild and Oregon-R) by means of their responses with eight different mutants. Prior to the analyses of viability data, we have studied the normalizing effect of several transformations in order to determine which was best suited for the analyses. The differences found among the five transformations tested and the untransformed data were not very great. The folded power transformatio…
Distribution of heterochromatin on the mitotic chromosomes of Musca domestica L. in relation to the activity of male-determining factors
1998
In the housefly, male sex is determined by a dominant factor, M, located either on the Y, on the X, or on any of the five autosomes. M factors on autosome I and on fragments of the Y chromosome show incomplete expressivity, whereas M factors on the other autosomes are fully expressive. To test whether these differences might be caused by heterochromatin-dependent position effects, we studied the distribution of heterochromatin on the mitotic chromosomes by C-banding and by fluorescence in situ hybridization of DNA fragments amplified from microdissected mitotic chromosomes. Our results show a correlation between the chromosomal position of M and the strength of its male-determining activity…
Knowledge, stigma, health seeking behaviour and its determinants among patients with post kalaazar dermal leishmaniasis, Bihar, India
2018
Background Lesishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease endemic in Bihar, India. Inappropriate health seeking behaviour of post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) patients may increase the disease duration, severity and transmissibility. Simultaneously, lack of knowledge and perceived stigma may also increase the length of delay in receiving treatment. This ultimately effects the kala-azar elimination program. Methods A cross sectional study was conducted in 120 confirmed PKDL patients, aged 18 years and older. Data related to knowledge and health seeking behaviour was collected by a pre-tested questionnaire. EMIC stigma scale was used for assessing the perceived stigma. Patients were …
Characterization ofBacillus thuringiensisisolated from infections in burn wounds
1997
Four strains of Bacillus thuringiensis were isolated from infections in burn wounds and from water used in the treatment of burn wounds. The strains produced large parasporal inclusion bodies composed of 141, 83, and 81 kDa protoxins. The four strains were tested for insecticidal activity against larvae of Pieris brassicae and Aedes aegypti but showed no activity; Vero cell assays for the production of enterotoxins were also negative. Attempts to classify the strains according to flagellar H-serotype showed them all to be non-flagellated. Apart from two occupational health accidents that occurred during the handling of highly concentrated B. thuringiensis fluids, this is the first report of…
Genome Evolution in the Primary Endosymbiont of Whiteflies Sheds Light on Their Divergence
2015
International audience; Hemipteran insects are well-known in their ability to establish symbiotic relationships with bacteria. Among them, heteropteran insects present an array of symbiotic systems, ranging from the most common gut crypt symbiosis to the more restricted bacteriome-associated endosymbiosis, which have only been detected in members of the superfamily Lygaeoidea and the family Cimicidae so far. Genomic data of heteropteran endosymbionts are scarce and have merely been analyzed from the Wolbachia endosymbiont in bed bug and a few gut crypt-associated symbionts in pentatomoid bugs. In this study, we present the first detailed genomic analysis of a bacteriome-associated endosymbi…