Search results for "ogas"
showing 10 items of 902 documents
Dysfunction of Torr causes a Harlequin-type ichthyosis-like phenotype in Drosophila melanogaster
2019
AbstractPrevention 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 Torr - 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 Torr function provokes rapid desiccation. Torr 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 Torr activity is redu…
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…
Labeling of Single Cells in the Central Nervous System of <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>
2013
In this article we describe how to individually label neurons in the embryonic CNS of Drosophila melanogaster by juxtacellular injection of the lipophilic fluorescent membrane marker DiI. This method allows the visualization of neuronal cell morphology in great detail. It is possible to label any cell in the CNS: cell bodies of target neurons are visualized under DIC optics or by expression of a fluorescent genetic marker such as GFP. After labeling, the DiI can be transformed into a permanent brown stain by photoconversion to allow visualization of cell morphology with transmitted light and DIC optics. Alternatively, the DiI-labeled cells can be observed directly with confocal microscopy, …
Phenobarbital Induction of UDP-glucosyltransferase Activity in Drosophila melanogaster Meigen
2000
The inducibility of UDP-glucosyltransferase activities towards the exogenous substrates 1-naphthol and 2-naphthol and the endogenous metabolite xanthurenic acid was demonstrated in Drosophila melanogaster Meigen larvae and adults using phenobarbital as an inducer. In adults, a 3.5-fold increase of glucosyltransferase activity toward xanthurenic acid and a 2.0-fold increase of the activity toward exogenous substrates (1-naphthol and 2-naphthol) was found. In larvae, maximum induction of all three UDP-glucosyltransferase activities (2.5-fold and 1.5-fold increase of the activity toward the exogenous and endogenous substrates, respectively) was achieved when insects, reared on solid medium, we…
The comparison of beta-thymosin homologues among metazoa supports an arthropod-nematode clade.
2000
The definition of an Ecdysozoa clade among the protostomians, including all phyla with a regularly molted alpha-chitin-rich cuticle, has been one of the most provocative hypotheses to arise from recent investigations on animal phylogeny. Here we present evidence in favor of an arthropod-nematode clade, from the comparison of beta-thymosin homologues among the Metazoa. Arthropods and nematodes share the absence of the highly conserved beta-thymosin form found in all other documented bilaterian phyla as well as sponges, and the possession of a very unusual, internally triplicated homologue of the beta-thymosin protein, unknown in other phyla. We argue that such discrete molecular character is…
A male XO sex-determining mechanism in Theodoxus meridionalis (Neritidae) (Prosobranchia, Archaeogastropoda).
1988
The haploid number of chromosomes n=12+h and the diploid values 2n=25 in males, and 2n=26 in females, have been determined for three geographically separated populations of Theodoxus meridionalis (Neritidae). A male XO sex-determining mechanism has been observed for this species.
Spermatocyte chromosome alterations intruncatella subcylindrica (L., 1767) (Mollusca, Mesogastropoda) following exposure to dibutyltin(IV) and tribut…
1992
In order to analyze chromosomes for possible numerical and structural alterations in response to exposure to organotin(IV) compounds, gastropod Truncatella subcylindrica specimens were treated with dibutyltin(IV) and tributyltin(IV) chloride solutions with different exposure times. Experimental evidence suggests that tributyltin(IV) chloride is more toxic to this organism than dibutyltin(IV) dichloride at low concentrations. Furthermore, the toxicity responses to these organotin(IV) derivatives seem to be proportional to both concentration and exposure time. The following structural lesions have been identified by comparative analysis of spermatocyte chromosomes from untreated specimens and…
Comparative evolution of P–M system and infection by the sigma virus in French and Spanish populations ofDrosophila melanogaster
1992
SummaryIn 1983, an extensive survey of populations ofD. melanogasterwas started in a southern French region (Languedoc) in two non-Mendelian systems: the P–M system of transposable elements and the hereditary Rhabdovirus sigma. Unexpectedly fast-evolving phenomena were observed and interesting correlations were noted, giving similar geographical pattern to the region in both systems. For these reasons, the analysis was continued and extended towards the north (Rhône Valley) and the south (Spain). In the P–M system, all the Languedoc populations evolved from 1983 to 1991 towards the Q type which is characteristic of the Rhône Valley populations. In contrast, M′ strains are currently observed…
Liquid co-substrates repower sewage microbiomes
2018
AbstractA range of parameters are known to shape the methanogenic communities of biogas-producing digesters and to strongly influence the amount of biogas produced. In this work, liquid and solid fractions of grass biomass were used separately for semicontinuous batch methanation using sewage sludge as seed sludge. During 6 months of incubation, the amount of input COD was increased gradually, and the underlying methanogenic microbiome was assessed by means of microscopy-based automated cell counting and full-length 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. In this sense, we prove for the first time the suitability of the ONT™MinION platform as a monitoring tool for anaerobic digestion systems. …
Characterization of DrosophilaHemoglobin
2002
In contrast to previous assumptions, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster possesses hemoglobin. This respiratory protein forms a monomer of about 17 kDa that is not exported into the hemolymph. Recombinant Drosophila hemoglobin displays a typical hexacoordinated deoxy spectrum and binds oxygen with an affinity of 0.12 torr. Four different hemoglobin transcripts have been identified, which are generated by two distinct promoters of the hemoglobin (glob1) gene but are identical in their coding regions. Putative binding sites for hypoxia-regulated transcription factors have been identified in the gene. Hemoglobin synthesis in Drosophila is mainly associated with the tracheal system and the fa…