Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Adalena Nanni, Natalie Martinez, Rita Graze, Alison Morse, Jeremy R. B. Newman, Vaibhav Jain, Srna Vlaho, Sarah Signor, Sergey Nuzhdin, Rolf Renne, Lauren M. McIntyre
Summary: In Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans head tissue, a significant proportion of orthologous genes exhibit sex-biased expression, with similar expression directions conserved between the two species. The enrichment of specific chromatin marks, such as H3K4me3 and H3K27me2me3, is associated with sex-biased expression in both males and females. However, the presence of H3K27me2me3 reduces the correlation between sex-bias ratios in male-biased orthologs.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aki Takahashi, Romain Durand-de Cuttoli, Meghan E. Flanigan, Emi Hasegawa, Tomomi Tsunematsu, Hossein Aleyasin, Yoan Cherasse, Ken Miya, Takuya Okada, Kazuko Keino-Masu, Koshiro Mitsui, Long Li, Vishwendra Patel, Robert D. Blitzer, Michael Lazarus, Kenji F. Tanaka, Akihiro Yamanaka, Takeshi Sakurai, Sonoko Ogawa, Scott J. Russo
Summary: The glutamatergic projections from the lateral habenula (LHb) to the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) modulate male mice's aggressive behavior. Inhibition of LHb-DRN projection blocks the increase in aggression after social instigation. The activity of this pathway is not necessary for the expression of species-typical aggressive behavior but essential for the increase in aggression resulting from social instigation.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Kuei-Yueh Ko, Cho-Yi Chen, Hsueh-Fen Juan, Hsuan-Cheng Huang
Summary: The hourglass model posits that developmental constraints in the middle of a developmental process are higher, and phenotypes are evolutionarily more conserved. Research found that network stochasticity follows an anti-hourglass trajectory, supporting Raff's hypothesis. Different species activate similar biological process groups during development, with higher interspecies correlations at mid-developmental stages.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jie Sun, Wen-Kan Liu, Calder Ellsworth, Qian Sun, Yufeng Pan, Yi-Chun Huang, Wu-Min Deng
Summary: Fru(COM) is a crucial factor for pheromone biosynthesis in hepatocyte-like oenocytes in fruit flies, playing a significant role in sexual attraction.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elisabeth Zieger, Nicolas S. M. Robert, Andrew Calcino, Andreas Wanninger
Summary: Based on research on different animal species, it was found that the coordinated upregulation of genes is associated with transitions in important life history stages, indicating that these genes played a crucial role in the common ancestor, guiding the transition from embryonic or larval development to juvenile maturation. These transcriptional signatures were already present in the Precambrian era and were secondarily utilized in the evolution of Ecdysozoa.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hui-Hao Lin, Meihua Christina Kuang, Imran Hossain, Yinan Xuan, Laura Beebe, Andrew K. Shepherd, Marco Rolandi, Jing W. Wang
Summary: This study explores the molecular and neuronal mechanisms underlying the transition from feeding to courtship in Drosophila melanogaster. The results show that feeding is prioritized over courtship in starved males, but the consumption of protein-rich food rapidly reverses this order. A gut-derived neuropeptide hormone called Diuretic hormone 31 (Dh31) plays a role in switching from feeding to courtship. The findings also reveal that Dh31 stimulates specific brain neurons through the circulation, leading to the prioritization of courtship over feeding through parallel pathways.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Timothy Fuqua, Jeff Jordan, Aliaksandr Halavatyi, Christian Tischer, Kerstin Richter, Justin Crocker
Summary: The study presents a semi-automated pipeline for fixing, staining, and imaging Drosophila embryos, with a liquid handling robot at its core. The efficiency of this pipeline is demonstrated, along with detailed technical overview and implementation steps.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wei-Yun Lai, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: The study found that after 100 generations of adaptation to a new laboratory environment, the variance of gene expression in Drosophila simulans males was significantly reduced in 125 and 97 genes, suggesting that the drastic loss in environmental complexity may have triggered selection for reduced variance. This observation could have important implications for studies of adaptation processes in natural and experimental populations.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Alexander P. Rezvykh, Sergei Yu. Funikov, Lyudmila A. Protsenko, Dina A. Kulikova, Elena S. Zelentsova, Lyubov N. Chuvakova, Justin P. Blumenstiel, Michael B. Evgen'ev
Summary: The pericentromeric heterochromatin in Drosophila is composed of repetitive DNA and associated with gene silencing. During evolution, active genes have been retained within pericentromeric regions in D. virilis, with amino acid composition under purifying selection and gene introns expanding due to TE invasion. The formation of pericentromeric heterochromatin in the virilis group species began more than 20 million years ago through TE invasions, with ongoing invasions by TEs under piRNA silencing regulation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sonali A. Deshpande, Ethan W. Rohrbach, James D. Asuncion, Jenna Harrigan, Aditya Eamani, Ellery H. Schlingmann, Daniel J. Suto, Pei-Tseng Lee, Felix E. Schweizer, Hugo J. Bellen, David E. Krantz
Summary: Octopamine plays an essential role in egg-laying in Drosophila melanogaster. This study identifies two octopamine receptors, Oct beta 2 and OAMB, that regulate oviduct contraction and relaxation, respectively. The interaction with glutamatergic pathways modifies the effects of octopamine, suggesting a possible mechanism for lateral oviduct contractions. The aminergic pathways in the oviposition circuit may be comparable to those that regulate visceral muscle contractility in mammals.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zeynep Okray, Pedro F. F. Jacob, Ciara Stern, Kieran Desmond, Nils Otto, Clifford B. B. Talbot, Paola Vargas-Gutierrez, Scott Waddell
Summary: Multisensory learning enhances memory performance in Drosophila, even for individual sensory cues. The neural mechanisms underlying the binding of sensory features during learning and the augmentation of memory expression are still unknown.
Article
Neurosciences
Renchao Chen, Timothy R. Blosser, Mohamed N. Djekidel, Junjie Hao, Aritra Bhattacherjee, Wenqiang Chen, Luis M. Tuesta, Xiaowei Zhuang, Yi Zhang
Summary: The authors utilized single-cell RNA sequencing and multiplexed error-robust FISH to generate a cell census of the mouse nucleus accumbens, revealing a high level of cell heterogeneity. This study demonstrates that the transcriptional and spatial diversity of neuron subtypes underlie the anatomic and functional heterogeneity of the nucleus accumbens.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Zevelou Koza, Mohamad Ayajuddin, Abhik Das, Rahul Chaurasia, Limamanen Phom, Sarat Chandra Yenisetti
Summary: Sexual dysfunction (SD) is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD) that is often overlooked. The mechanism of SD in PD is not well understood, but studies have shown that dopamine (DA) in the hypothalamus plays a role in regulating sexual behavior. In this study, a Drosophila melanogaster model of sporadic SD in PD was developed and observed based on abnormalities in courtship behavior markers. The model exhibited SD without mobility defects, and there was no observable degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. This study sheds light on the molecular basis of SD in PD and provides an opportunity for screening potential therapeutic molecules.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Liucong Ling, Bettina Muehling, Rita Jaenichen, Nicolas Gompel
Summary: The loss of discrete morphological traits is commonly driven by changes in gene expression, particularly mutations in regulatory elements. However, in a Drosophila species, the loss of a wing spot pigmentation pattern is due to increased chromatin accessibility and the gain of a repressor site at the yellow gene. This increase in chromatin accessibility is regulated by the transcription factor E93, indicating that changes in chromatin accessibility can directly contribute to morphological diversification.
Article
Cell Biology
Ayaka Kato, Kazumi Ohta, Kazuo Okanoya, Hokto Kazama
Summary: DANs not only play a role in assessing sensory values in associative contexts but also update odor values in a nonassociative manner. Research has found that DANs constantly update odor values by inducing plasticity, which in turn affects the steering behavior of fruit flies.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kathrin A. Otte, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: Shifting from SNP analysis to haplotype reconstruction improves the interpretation of E&R experiments, with haplovalidate allowing for detection of selected haplotypes in Pool-seq data.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Anna Maria Langmueller, Marlies Dolezal, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: Evolve and Resequence (E&R) studies explore the genomic selection response of populations in Experimental Evolution setups. Secondary E&R, as a promising experimental follow-up procedure, can enhance mapping resolution by allowing for additional recombination events. The crossing scheme and population size are crucial factors determining the power and resolution of secondary E&R, with a minimum population size of 4,800 individuals needed to achieve at least 75% power.
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Claire Burny, Viola Nolte, Marlies Dolezal, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: This study used a modified evolve and resequence (E&R) design to investigate polygenic adaptation in fruit flies, by exposing them to a high-temperature environment. The findings suggest that the X chromosome shows a stronger selection response than autosomes, possibly due to dominance effects, and that adaptive responses were more pronounced in a two-genotype experiment compared to classic E&R studies.
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wei-Yun Lai, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: The study found that after 100 generations of adaptation to a new laboratory environment, the variance of gene expression in Drosophila simulans males was significantly reduced in 125 and 97 genes, suggesting that the drastic loss in environmental complexity may have triggered selection for reduced variance. This observation could have important implications for studies of adaptation processes in natural and experimental populations.
Article
Biology
Rupert Mazzucco, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: The influence of the microbiome on its host is well-documented, but the interplay among members of the microbiome is not yet well-understood. Longitudinal studies provide a promising approach to studying such interactions, and a recent study found that the composition of microbiome changes systematically across different temperature regimes, indicating functional interdependence among different microbiome components.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Manolis Lirakis, Viola Nolte, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: The genetic basis of adaptation to different environments has long been of interest to evolutionary biologists. This study performed a genome-wide scan on the sibling species of D. melanogaster, D. simulans, to characterize the genetic basis of dormancy. The results suggest that dormancy is a polygenic trait with many loci of small effect.
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Robert Kofler, Viola Nolte, Christian Schlotterer
Summary: The dynamics of transposable element invasions are influenced by multiple factors, and the transposition rate is only one of them. By studying the temperature-dependent activity of the P-element, researchers found that despite differences in transposition rates, the copy numbers of the P-element were very similar at different temperatures. The decrease in insertion rate as the copy number approached a plateau was accompanied by the production of piRNAs. However, fewer P-element insertions were observed in piRNA clusters than expected, indicating that factors other than the trap model influenced the dynamics of TE invasions.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biology
Claire Burny, Viola Nolte, Marlies Dolezal, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: Experimental evolution combined with whole-genome sequencing is a powerful method to study the adaptive architecture of selected traits. This study shows that the presence of a second stressor affects the genomic selection response, and the combination of temperature and laboratory adaptation results in widespread synergistic effects.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Francois Mallard, Luke Noble, Charles F. Baer, Henrique Teotonio
Summary: Due to pleiotropy, mutations affect multiple traits, making it important to investigate variations in the mutational M matrix between genotypes. This study estimated the M matrix for locomotion behavior traits in two genotypes of C. elegans. There were significant mutational variances, but no detectable differences in size or orientation between genotypes. Furthermore, the M matrix differed from the G matrix, indicating that selection does not shape the M matrix in the short-term and suggesting that hybridization of C. elegans genotypes allows selection on new phenotypic dimensions.
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Wei-Yun Lai, Kathrin A. Otte, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: Most organismal phenotypes have a polygenic basis, which allows for adaptive phenotypic changes. However, the contributing loci for these changes can vary, especially in small populations. The molecular basis of genetic redundancy is not yet understood. To investigate this, we compared the evolutionary transcriptomic and metabolomic response in ten Drosophila simulans populations that underwent similar phenotypic changes but with different allelic combinations. We found that the metabolome evolved in a more parallel manner than the transcriptome, suggesting a hierarchical organization of molecular phenotypes.
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Review
Biology
Christian Schloetterer
Summary: Experimental evolution is a useful tool for testing the predictability of evolution without the confounding effects of inaccurate forecasts. Parallel evolution has been studied in both asexual microorganisms and sexual species, but the predictability varies between different aspects. The predictability of genomic selection response for polygenic traits depends on the founder population and the adaptive architecture in the ancestral populations.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kathrin A. Otte
Summary: This article presents a new approach to genotype-environment association (GEA) studies called genomic window analysis, which combines the information of neighboring single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to enhance the detection of genomic signals of environmental adaptation. The method is proven to be superior to several established GEA approaches, especially in cases with small sample sizes, through simulations and real data analysis.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Eirini Christodoulaki, Viola Nolte, Wei-Yun Lai, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: This study proposes a new measurement of pleiotropy by integrating information from multiple phenotypes and generations. The results suggest that multiple loci of weak effect contribute to pleiotropy at the genome-wide level. The study also suggests that the modular architecture of gene expression can reduce the costs of pleiotropy.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Kathrin A. Otte, Viola Nolte, Francois Mallard, Christian Schloetterer
Summary: Understanding the genetic architecture of temperature adaptation is crucial for predicting the impact of climate change on natural populations. Research showed that the adaptive architecture is more dependent on the ancestry of the founder population rather than the specific selection regime, as replicate populations from different environments demonstrated similar responses to cold temperature adaptation.