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Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Pallavi Chauhan, Janne Swaegers, Rosa A. Sanchez-Guillen, Erik Svensson, Maren Wellenreuther, Bengt Hansson
Summary: This study reveals the conservation of sex chromosome synteny and balanced expression of X-linked genes between sexes in Ischnura elegans, as well as the presence of sex-biased gene expression in the sex-determining pathway. Furthermore, the study shows the independent evolution of dosage compensation among insect orders separated by millions of years of evolutionary history.
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Genetics & Heredity
Michael B. Davis, Eshna Jash, Bahaar Chawla, Rebecca A. Haines, Lillian E. Tushman, Ryan Troll, Gyorgyi Csankovszki
Summary: Dosage compensation is a crucial gene regulatory mechanism that affects chromatin structure and is essential for organismal health. In this study, Argonaute genes were identified as promoters of dosage compensation in Caenorhabditis elegans. These genes not only impact gene expression but also influence the condensation of the X chromosomes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ryan J. Gleason, Yanrui Guo, Christopher S. Semancik, Cindy Ow, Gitanjali Lakshminarayanan, Xin Chen
Summary: During metazoan development, there is a marked change in developmental potential from the parental germline to the embryo, and this study aims to understand how the next life cycle is reset. Through gene editing techniques, the study investigates the expression pattern and role of individual RC histone H3 genes in Caenorhab-ditis elegans and compares them to the histone variant, H3.3. The findings reveal a tightly regulated epigenome landscape change from the germline to embryos, showing that a change from a H3.3-to H3-enriched epigenome restricts developmental plasticity and uncovers distinct roles for individual H3 genes in regulating germline chromatin.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shalini Trivedi, Jitka Blazickova, Nicola Silva
Summary: This study reveals the important role of the BRC-1/BRCA1-BRD-1/BARD1 and PARG-1/PARG complex in meiotic cells for accurate DNA repair and genome integrity. Depletion of both BRC-1 and PARG-1 leads to synthetic lethality and reduces crossover formation and break repair. These factors function independently in developing oocytes, operating in different pathways. The study also highlights the influence of BRC-1-PARG-1 in DNA repair pathway choice.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Barbara J. Meyer
Summary: Abnormalities in chromosome number can disrupt gene expression balance and decrease fitness. The difference in X-chromosome dose used to determine sexual fate is well tolerated across species. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans provides insights into the chromosome counting and dosage compensation mechanisms and how small quantitative differences in signals can lead to different fates. Understanding X-chromosome dosage compensation reveals the interplay between chromatin modification and chromosome structure in regulating gene expression.
Article
Cell Biology
Laura Breimann, Ana Karina Morao, Jun Kim, David Sebastian Jimenez, Nina Maryn, Krishna Bikkasani, Michael J. Carrozza, Sarah E. Albritton, Maxwell Kramer, Lena Annika Street, Kustrim Cerimi, Vic-Fabienne Schumann, Ella Bahry, Stephan Preibisch, Andrew Woehler, Sevinc Ercan
Summary: Using the Caenorhabditis elegans condensin DC as a model, this study investigated the regulation of condensin binding dynamics on the X chromosomes. The results suggest that the H4K2Ome2 demethylase DPY-21 plays a non-catalytic role in regulating the dynamics of condensin DC binding, which is crucial for transcriptional repression.
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Agata Izabela Kalita, Eric Marois, Magdalena Kozielska, Franz J. Weissing, Etienne Jaouen, Martin M. Moeckel, Frank Ruehle, Falk Butter, M. Felicia Basilicata, Claudia Isabelle Keller Valsecchi
Summary: The discovery of the sex chromosome activation (SOA) gene as a master regulator of dosage compensation (DC) in Anopheles mosquitoes sheds light on the evolutionary steps leading to the establishment of a chromosome-specific fine-tuning mechanism. The male isoform of the SOA gene encodes a DNA-binding protein that binds the promoters of active X chromosomal genes and expressing it induces DC in female cells. Male mosquitoes lacking SOA or female mosquitoes expressing the male isoform exhibit X chromosome misregulation and developmental delay.
Article
Biology
Xiaowei Xu, Xu Hua, Kyle Brown, Xiaojun Ren, Zhiguo Zhang
Summary: Mcm2 plays an important role in the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells by manipulating chromatin landscapes at bivalent chromatin domains.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Phillip A. Frankino, Talha F. Siddiqi, Theodore Bolas, Raz Bar-Ziv, Holly K. Gildea, Hanlin Zhang, Ryo Higuchi-Sanabria, Andrew Dillin
Summary: The transcription factor SKN-1/NRF2 can sense and respond to changes in metabolic state. Knockdown of the amidohydrolase T12A2.1/amdh-1 activates a unique subset of SKN-1 regulated genes, independent of P38-MAPK signaling components. Histidine catabolism genes are required for this activation, possibly through accumulation of a specific catabolite. Activating SKN-1 results in increased oxidative stress resistance but decreased survival to heat stress.
Article
Cell Biology
Yi Xiao, Fang Liu, Qinghong Kong, Xinting Zhu, Haijuan Wang, Sanhua Li, Nian Jiang, Changyan Yu, Liu Yun
Summary: Metformin, a commonly used drug for type II diabetes, has shown potential for extending lifespan and delaying age-related diseases. This study explores the molecular mechanisms behind these effects, finding that metformin exposure in adults, but not larvae, is sufficient to extend lifespan. Reduced levels of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and altered histone methylation may contribute to the lifespan extension. Through genetic screening in C. elegans, the study identifies an H3K4 methyltransferase/demethylase complex that is involved in metformin's promotion of healthspan by downregulating mTOR and S6 kinase. These findings provide molecular links between metformin, SAM limitation, histone methylation, and healthspan.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicholas J. Fuda, Katjusa Brejc, William S. Kruesi, Edward J. Ralston, Rachel Bigley, Aram Shin, Miki Okada, Barbara J. Meyer
Summary: The study identifies critical X-sequence motifs in Caenorhabditis elegans that act synergistically in hermaphrodites to direct X-specific recruitment of the dosage compensation complex (DCC), a condensin complex. The findings reveal that synergy in DCC binding via combinatorial clustering of motifs triggers DCC assembly specifically on X chromosomes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michail Rovatsos, Lukas Kratochvil
Summary: Organisms have evolved various mechanisms to cope with differences in gene copy numbers caused by degeneration of sex chromosomes. Different gene dose regulatory mechanisms were found in reptilian lineages with independently co-opted the same ancestral genomic region for sex chromosomes. The variability in gene dose regulation is not merely a consequence of ancestral autosomal gene content.
Article
Biology
Jack G. Rayner, Thomas J. Hitchcock, Nathan W. Bailey
Summary: Recent research suggests that dosage compensation on the X chromosome scales phenotypic effects between the sexes, with incomplete dosage compensation potentially leading to female-biased effects on X-linked alleles.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Yoshiki Sakai, Hiroshi Hanafusa, Tatsuhiro Shimizu, Strahil I. Pastuhov, Naoki Hisamoto, Kunihiro Matsumoto
Summary: This study reveals a novel role for BRCA1 and its partner BARD1 in neuronal cells, showing their involvement in regulating axon regeneration through the Gq alpha-DAG signaling network.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biology
Abigail R. R. Guillermo, Karolina Chocian, Gavriil Gavriilidis, Julien Vandamme, Anna Elisabetta Salcini, Jane Mellor, Alison Woollard
Summary: This study identifies chromatin modifiers as key regulators of longevity, with interactions between different factors such as expression levels and tissue specificity influencing lifespan outcomes. When considering molecular and tissue-specific effects, the heterochromatin loss model of ageing may be too simplistic to fully explain organismal ageing.
Article
Developmental Biology
Rajprasad Loganathan, Joslynn S. Lee, Michael B. Wells, Elizabeth Grevengoed, Matthew Slattery, Deborah J. Andrew
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2016)
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Genetics & Heredity
Alyssa C. Lau, Kevin P. Zhu, Elizabeth A. Brouhard, Michael B. Davis, Gyorgyi Csankovszki
EPIGENETICS & CHROMATIN
(2016)
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Genetics & Heredity
Martha J. Snyder, Alyssa C. Lau, Elizabeth A. Brouhard, Michael B. Davis, Jianhao Jiang, Margarita H. Sifuentes, Gyorgyi Csankovszki
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Genetics & Heredity
Margarita R. Hernandez, Michael B. Davis, Jianhao Jiang, Elizabeth A. Brouhard, Aaron F. Severson, Gyorgyi Csankovszki
Article
Infectious Diseases
Mabel L. Taracena, Vanessa Bottino-Rojas, Octavio A. C. Talyuli, Ana Beatriz Walter-Nuno, Jose A. Henrique M. Oliveira, Yesseinia I. Anglero-Rodriguez, Michael B. Wells, George Dimopoulos, Pedro L. Oliveira, Gabriela O. Paiva-Silva
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
(2018)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael B. Wells, Jordan Villamor, Deborah J. Andrew
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2017)
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Microbiology
Michael B. Wells, Deborah J. Andrew
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Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
M. Jordan Rowley, Axel Poulet, Michael H. Nichols, Brianna J. Bixler, Adrian L. Sanborn, Elizabeth A. Brouhard, Karen Hermetz, Hannah Linsenbaum, Gyorgyi Csankovszki, Erez Lieberman Aiden, Victor G. Corces
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Cell Biology
Dorothy M. Johnson, Michael B. Wells, Rebecca Fox, Joslynn S. Lee, Rajprasad Loganathan, Daniel Levings, Abigail Bastien, Matthew Slattery, Deborah J. Andrew
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
M. Chiu, B. Trigg, M. Taracena, M. Wells
Summary: Mosquitoes pose the greatest animal threat to human health, transmitting hundreds of millions of infections and causing around 1 million deaths annually. This study focused on analyzing the larval SG of mosquitoes, revealing significant differences in cell architecture and gene expression, with lumen formation during the larval stage through secretion. The research highlights the potential candidate targets for disrupting SG and interrupting the transmission of mosquito-borne pathogens.
INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Rajprasad Loganathan, Daniel C. Levings, Ji Hoon Kim, Michael B. Wells, Hannah Chiu, Yifan Wu, Matthew Slattery, Deborah J. Andrew
Summary: This study reports early cell growth as a key characteristic of tubulogenesis in the Drosophila embryonic salivary gland and trachea. A nuclear factor called Ribbon (Rib) is found to mediate this early cell growth, and it interacts with transcriptional regulators of ribosomal protein genes. These findings support a model of early cell growth customized by transcriptional regulatory networks to coordinate organ form and function.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michelle Z. Chiu, Steven Lannon, Marisol Luchetti, Michael B. Wells, Deborah J. Andrew
Summary: Mosquito salivary glands play a crucial role in transmitting insect-borne pathogens to vertebrate hosts. Understanding larval salivary gland development can aid in assessing interventions to limit disease transmission. This video protocol demonstrates an efficient technique for isolating, fixing, and staining larval salivary glands for further research applications.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Michael B. Davis, Eshna Jash, Bahaar Chawla, Rebecca A. Haines, Lillian E. Tushman, Ryan Troll, Gyorgyi Csankovszki
Summary: Dosage compensation is a crucial gene regulatory mechanism that affects chromatin structure and is essential for organismal health. In this study, Argonaute genes were identified as promoters of dosage compensation in Caenorhabditis elegans. These genes not only impact gene expression but also influence the condensation of the X chromosomes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mabel Taracena, Catherine Hunt, Pamela Pennington, Deborah Andrew, Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena, Ellen Dotson, Michael Wells
Summary: This study presents a new method for robust activation of RNAi by orally delivering dsRNA to adult Anopheles gambiae. Targeting key genes using this method resulted in reduced gene expression and protein immunofluorescence signal, as well as observed defects in salivary gland morphology.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Natasha E. Weiser, Danny X. Yang, Suhua Feng, Natallia Kalinava, Kristen C. Brown, Jayshree Khanikar, Mallory A. Freeberg, Martha J. Snyder, Gyorgyi Csankovszki, Raymond C. Chan, Sam G. Gu, Taiowa A. Montgomery, Steven E. Jacobsen, John K. Kim
DEVELOPMENTAL CELL
(2017)
