Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuri Prozzillo, Stefano Cuticone, Diego Ferreri, Gaia Fattorini, Giovanni Messina, Patrizio Dimitri
Summary: The chromatin organization in Drosophila melanogaster is regulated by Tip60 chromatin remodeling complex (dTip60), DOM-A.C and DOM-B.C complexes, which share most subunits. This study combined genetics and cell biology to investigate the biological roles of these subunits in Drosophila melanogaster development.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biology
Jianjian Zhao, Xuchen Zhang, Bohan Zhao, Wantong Hu, Tongxin Diao, Liyuan Wang, Yi Zhong, Qian Li
Summary: Animals have strategies to cope with proactive and retroactive interference when learning different tasks consecutively. In this study, researchers investigated the molecular mechanisms of proactive and retroactive interference in Drosophila. They found that proactive interference is more sensitive to the inter-task interval (ITI) and that manipulating the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 affects proactive interference but not retroactive interference or single learning tasks. These findings suggest that sequential learning of different tasks triggers distinct molecular mechanisms to tune proactive and retroactive interference.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jordi Bernues, Andrea Izquierdo-Boulstridge, Oscar Reina, Lucia Castejon, Elena Fernandez-Castaner, Nuria Leal, Nancy Guerrero-Pepinosa, Carles Bonet-Costa, Olivera Vujatovic, Paula Climent-Canto, Fernando Azorin
Summary: Post-translational modifications of core histones, such as dH1K27me2, play crucial roles in epigenetic regulation of chromatin. In Drosophila, dH1K27me2 is a major modification of heterochromatin and contributes to heterochromatin organization independently of H3K9 methylation.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Neel Prabh, Christian Roedelsperger
Summary: The birth of new genes is a major driving force behind phenotypic diversity in all life forms. Previous studies have focused on the duplication of existing protein-coding material as the main process of new gene formation, but recent research has found that transcriptionally active sequences can also be a rich source of new genes. However, the high birth rates of these new genes have to be balanced with the loss rates in order to explain the dominance of ancient gene families in individual genomes. In this study, the researchers tested the hypothesis of rapid turnover in the nematode model organism Pristionchus pacificus. By sequencing the genomes of six divergent P. pacificus strains, they studied the evolutionary dynamics of different age classes and categories of origin at a population level. They found that de novo candidates, new genes that are not derived from duplication and divergence of known genes, are typically shorter, show less expression, and are overrepresented on the sex chromosome. In addition, the researchers discovered that de novo candidates have higher attrition rates compared to known genes within the same age class. These findings provide empirical evidence for the rapid turnover hypothesis and emphasize the importance of considering the evolutionary timescale when studying new gene formation.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Sander Visser, Anna Volenikova, Petr Nguyen, Eveline C. Verhulst, Frantisek Marec
Summary: The sex-determining cascade in the silkworm differs greatly from that of the Mediterranean flour moth, but studies on the latter species show that the Masc gene plays a crucial role in controlling male development, highlighting the importance of Masc in sex determination.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alexandru Al. Ecovoiu, Attila Cristian Ratiu, Miruna Mihaela Micheu, Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc
Summary: Drosophila melanogaster is a versatile model organism in genetics that has been used to study and simulate human genetic diseases. By transferring human genes into fruit flies and observing the effects, researchers can identify and validate genetic variants associated with human diseases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Eric Wesley Wice, Julia Barbara Saltz
Summary: The position an individual holds in a social network is influenced by both direct and indirect social interactions. The genotype of individuals within a social group impacts their network positions, and studying how genetic effects shape social network positions is crucial for understanding social environment and evolution.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michal Polak, Jorge L. Hurtado-Gonzales, Joshua B. Benoit, Kassie J. Hooker, Frances Tyler
Summary: This study demonstrated the existence of positive genetic covariance between a male secondary sexual trait, such as ornament size, and competitive fertilization success. The findings suggest that indirect postcopulatory sexual selection may magnify net selection on ornamental trait expression under certain conditions.
Article
Cell Biology
Tatyana D. Kolesnikova, Mikhail S. Klenov, Alina R. Nokhova, Sergey A. Lavrov, Galina V. Pokholkova, Veit Schubert, Svetlana V. Maltseva, Kevin R. Cook, Michael J. Dixon, Igor F. Zhimulev
Summary: This study used a Rif1 mutation to analyze heterochromatin in Drosophila melanogaster and discovered a new inversion. Using nanopore sequencing and FISH, the breakpoints of the inversion in both euchromatin and heterochromatin were identified. This research provides new insights into the X chromosome heterochromatin structure, nucleolar organization, and nucleolar dominance phenomenon.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Manuel Rueda, Roberto Ariosa, Mauricio Moldes, Jordi Rambla
Summary: Beacon v2 is an API specification that defines a standard for federated discovery of genomic and phenotypic data. B2RI is a set of open-source software tools that allow quick setup of a local Beacon instance.
Article
Biology
Stefanny Villalobos-Cantor, Ruth M. Barrett, Alec F. Condon, Alicia Arreola-Bustos, Kelsie M. Rodriguez, Michael S. Cohen, Ian Martin
Summary: Controlled protein synthesis is crucial for regulating gene expression in a cell type-specific manner. We developed a new method to specifically label and visualize newly-synthesized proteins in targeted cell populations in the fly brain, allowing for quantitative analysis of protein synthesis states in vivo.
Article
Cell Biology
Tai-Ting Lee, Po-Lin Chen, Matthew P. Su, Jian-Chiuan Li, Yi-Wen Chang, Rei-Wen Liu, Hsueh-Fen Juan, Jinn-Moon Yang, Shih-Peng Chan, Yu-Chen Tsai, Sophia von Stockum, Elena Ziviani, Azusa Kamikouchi, Horng-Dar Wang, Chun-Hong Chen
Summary: By using the Drosophila melanogaster model, researchers discovered that the mitochondrial outer membrane protein Fis1 plays a crucial role in muscle dysfunction and several age-related conditions, with mutations leading to damaged mitochondria, increased oxidative stress, and decreased muscle function. Mutations in Fis1 also affect mitochondrial proteostasis in fly muscle, reducing flight capabilities and lifespan, indicating the significance of Fis1 in fly mitochondrial dynamics.
Article
Microbiology
Fang Zhang, Liying Wang, Jiayu Jin, Yulu Pang, Hao Shi, Ziyi Fang, Han Wang, Yujie Du, Yufan Hu, Yingchun Zhang, Xiaoyue Ding, Zuobin Zhu
Summary: This study investigated the impact of Escherichia coli mutant strains on fruit fly lifespan and found that feeding E. coli purE strain resulted in the longest lifespan in fruit flies, which was also validated in Caenorhabditis elegans. RNA sequencing and analysis revealed that E. coli mutant strains affect lifespan by regulating protein synthesis rate and ATP levels. This research provides new insights into the genetic influences of gut microbiota on host lifespan and offers a foundation for developing anti-aging probiotics and drugs.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Lei Yue, Li-Jun Cao, Jin-Cui Chen, Ya-Jun Gong, Yan-Hao Lin, Ary Anthony Hoffmann, Shu-Jun Wei
Summary: The study on population genetic structure of Drosophila melanogaster in China reveals high levels of genetic uniqueness among populations, with geographic isolation and environmental factors playing significant roles in shaping the genetic structure after the species' introduction into China.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Brandt Warecki, Ian Bast, Matthew Tajima, William Sullivan
Summary: There is a mechanism in normally dividing cells that uses connections between telomeres to rescue lagging chromosome fragments. This mechanism stabilizes the connections through the recruitment of specific proteins, aiding in the rescue of the fragments.
