Article
Entomology
Giridhar Athrey, Zachary R. Popkin-Hall, Willem Takken, Michel A. Slotman
Summary: The study compared the chemosensory gene expression in the male maxillary palps of An. coluzzii and its sibling species An. quadriannulatus, revealing species and female-biased chemosensory gene expression patterns. The results suggest that the male maxillary palps could play a sex- and species-specific role in the perception of chemical stimuli, guiding future studies on the role of this organ in these species.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Melika Hajkazemian, Sharon R. Hill, Raimondas Mozuraitis, Lisa Ranford-Cartwright, S. Noushin Emami, Rickard Ignell
Summary: This study investigates the impact of malaria parasites on mosquito behaviors and finds that infection alters the activity patterns and response to human odour of mosquitoes. Furthermore, the effects are modulated by the age of the mosquitoes. These findings have important implications for malaria transmission and disease dynamics.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Samuel K. H. Sy, Danny C. W. Chan, Roy C. H. Chan, Jing Lyu, Zhongqi Li, Kenneth K. Y. Wong, Chung Hang Jonathan Choi, Vincent C. T. Mok, Hei-Ming Lai, Owen Randlett, Yu Hu, Ho Ko
Summary: Fish-on-Chips is an optofluidic tool that allows for precise chemical cue presentation, behavioral response monitoring, and whole-brain neuronal activity recording in larval zebrafish. It utilizes laminar fluid flows to control chemical delivery and enables the investigation of neural coding in the chemical senses. The platform has demonstrated its strength in revealing behavioral strategies and neural representations of odor sensing in the vertebrate model.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Philip Kohlmeier, Jean-Christophe Billeter
Summary: This review discusses the genetic mechanisms that regulate neuronal sensitivity and behavior, providing a comprehensive list of already identified genes and mechanisms that impact behavior through changes in neuronal sensitivity to help interpret omics data.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Ui Jin Kim, Dong Hae Ho, Yoon Young Choi, Yongsuk Choi, Dong Gue Roe, Yonghyun Albert Kwon, Seongchan Kim, Young Jin Choi, Yejin Heo, Sae Byeok Jo, Geun Yeol Bae, Taeyoon Lee, Jeong Ho Cho
Summary: This article presents an artificial multimodal integration system that emulates the perception of discomfort through the integration of multiple sensory signals. The system utilizes a sensory ring oscillator to integrate thermosensory and hygrosensory signals into voltage pulses, which are then translated into a postsynaptic current highly correlated with the calculated humidex.
ACS MATERIALS LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Physiology
Mainak Patel, Nisha Kulkarni, Harry H. Lei, Kaitlyn Lai, Omina Nematova, Katherine Wei, Hong Lei
Summary: Olfactory signals are delivered to insect antennae through turbulent air, providing both chemical and mechanical stimulation. Antennal lobe, traditionally considered as a chemosensory structure, also responds to mechanical input. The strength of mechanical input is correlated with the ability to track odor sources.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
M. Pezzi, C. Scapoli, M. Bharti, M. J. Faucheux, M. Chicca, M. Leis, M. G. Marchetti, E. Mamolini, R. Salvia, P. Falabella, T. Bonacci
Summary: The black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, is a relevant species in waste management, forensic, medical, and veterinary sciences. This study conducted a detailed ultrastructural analysis of the maxillary palps of both sexes using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), revealing sexual dimorphism in length and shape as well as the presence of sensory structures. This research may serve as a foundation for further investigations into the mouthpart structures of H. illucens and their role in key physiological activities.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Soo Min Oh, Kyunghwa Jeong, Jeong Taeg Seo, Seok Jun Moon
Summary: Through studying fruit flies, we have found that multimodal sensory integration plays a role in feeding behavior, particularly the contributions of olfactory and mechanical inputs to taste-evoked feeding behavior. Controlled delivery of three different sensory cues can produce a supra-additive reflex. Fruit flies serve as a versatile model system for studying multisensory integration related to feeding, which likely also exists in vertebrates.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shannon E. Keenan, Maria Avdeeva, Liu Yang, Daniel S. Alber, Eric F. Wieschaus, Stanislav Y. Shvartsman
Summary: In this study, gene editing and microscopy were used to investigate the gene regulatory network involved in fruit fly embryonic development. A computational approach was developed to merge image data of individual components into a multivariable trajectory. The research revealed a low intrinsic dimensionality of posterior patterning and cell fate determination, allowing the construction of a model and predictions at the protein level.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jichuan Cao, Tianxiong Yu, Bo Xu, Zhongren Hu, Xiao-ou Zhang, William E. Theurkauf, Zhiping Weng
Summary: Transposons, mobile genetic elements, are prevalent in most species' genomes and their distribution is influenced by insertion site selection and selective pressure from the host. By analyzing sequencing data from transposon-activated Drosophila melanogaster, researchers identified different insertion patterns for different types of transposons. The findings provide insights into genome evolution and disease biology.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Luca Fornia, Antonella Leonetti, Guglielmo Puglisi, Marco Rossi, Luca Vigano, Bianca Della Santa, Luciano Simone, Lorenzo Bello, Gabriella Cerri
Summary: This study investigates the overlap and divergence of praxis and prehension-manipulation within the parieto-frontal circuits, aiming to understand how human cognition shapes hand actions. The results show that different sectors of the parietal areas have distinct roles in praxis and visuo-motor process controlling manipulation. The functional interaction between the rostral intraparietal and inferior parietal areas contributes to the cognitive upgrade of hand actions.
Article
Entomology
Fumika Shii, Dingze Mang, Mayu Kasubuchi, Kana Tsuneto, Tomoko Toyama, Haruka Endo, Ken Sasaki, Ryoichi Sato
Summary: This study found that insect larvae can recognize inedible plant leaves through palpation rather than test biting, avoiding persistent biting behavior caused by test biting. These findings reveal that ultrasensitive plant secondary metabolite-recognizing neurons in the maxillary palps allow larvae to avoid damage from ingesting harmful allelochemicals.
JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ke-Huan K. Chow, Mark W. Budde, Alejandro A. Granados, Maria Cabrera, Shinae Yoon, Soomin Cho, Ting-Hao Huang, Noushin Koulena, Kirsten L. Frieda, Long Cai, Carlos Lois, Michael B. Elowitz
Summary: By utilizing the intMEMOIR system, researchers have developed a method to record cell lineage information that can be read out in situ. This system allows for lineage reconstruction in both mouse and fly cells, as well as simultaneous analysis of clonal history, spatial position, and gene expression. These results establish a foundation for microscopy-readable lineage recording and analysis in diverse systems.
Article
Biology
Hugo A. Benitez, Thomas A. Puschel, Manuel J. Suazo
Summary: This study provides insight into the integration relationships at different levels and their involvement in wing shape diversification in Drosophila. The results show strong morphological integration at static, developmental, and evolutionary levels, possibly due to genetic drift.
Article
Biology
Xuelong Sun, Shigang Yue, Michael Mangan
Summary: The research assessed the function of the central complex in insect navigation, identifying a biologically plausible neural transfer mechanism that helps insects to robustly recover and adapt to different environmental disturbances. Additionally, it was proposed that these circuits can be flexibly repurposed by different insect navigators to address their unique ecological needs.
