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38 records returned

Brain patterning defects caused by mutations of the twin of eyeless gene in Drosophila melanogaster.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The Drosophila Pax6 genes, eyeless (ey) and twin of eyeless (toy), are expressed in both eyes and the brain. Previous studies have demonstrated that ey plays important roles in axonal outgrowth and differentiation of mushroom bodies (MBs), which are centers for associative learning and memory in flies. However, the functional significance of toy in brain development is poorly understood. Here, we describe the expression patterns of TOY, and show that TOY expression partially overlaps with EY expression in the embryonic, larval and adult brains. Mutations of toy perturb brain neuromere formation in the embryonic stages,...
Source: Fly - October 21, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Furukubo-Tokunaga K, Adachi Y, Kurusu M, Walldorf U Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Quantitative trait locus for starvation resistance in an intercontinental set of mapping populations of Drosophila melanogaster.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Starvation resistance (SR) is an important trait for survival of insects in the wild. We used recombinant inbred lines (RIL) to search for quantitative trait loci (QTL) in crosses between intercontinental inbred lines that were originally selected for heat-knockdown resistance. SR was measured as the time of survival under repeated events of starvation. SR was consistently higher in females than in males. Composite interval mapping identified one QTL region (cytological range 64D-66E2) on the left arm of chromosome 3 in males, and no QTL was found in females. Many candidate genes that were identified in previous studie...
Source: Fly - October 21, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Gómez FH, Defays R, Sambucetti P, Scannapieco AC, Loeschcke V, Norry FM Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

The evolutionarily conserved RNA binding protein SMOOTH is essential for maintaining normal muscle function.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The Drosophila smooth gene encodes an RNA binding protein that has been well conserved through evolution. To investigate the pleiotropic functions mediated by the smooth gene, we have selected and characterized two sm mutants, which are viable as adults yet display robust phenotypes (including a significant decrease in lifespan). Utilizing these mutants, we have made the novel observation that disruption of the smooth/CG9218 locus leads to age-dependent muscle degeneration, and motor dysfunction. Histological characterization of adult sm mutants revealed marked abnormalities in the major thoracic tubular muscle: the te...
Source: Fly - September 18, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Draper I, Tabaka ME, Jackson FR, Salomon RN, Kopin AS Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

The spindle matrix through the cell cycle in Drosophila.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A spindle matrix has long been proposed to provide structural support for counterbalancing force production and a substrate for essential mitotic factors. For years the molecular identity of such a structure remained elusive. Recently a complex of nuclear proteins that reorganize into a spindle-like structure during prophase through metaphase that shows characteristics of a spindle matrix has been identified in Drosophila. We review how these results support the concept of a spindle matrix and discuss its possible function(s) during mitosis. Importantly, these molecules also appear to play critical roles during interph...
Source: Fly - August 21, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Johansen J, Johansen KM Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Neurogenetics and the "fly-stampede": Dissecting neural circuits involved in visual behaviors.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19625763 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Fly)
Source: Fly - July 26, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Zhu Y, Frye M Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Cell shape and epithelial patterning in the Drosophila embryonic epidermis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The development of denticle rows on the ventral Drosophila embryo is a valuable system for studying the genetic control of epithelial patterning. During late embryogenesis, the apical surfaces of denticle-producing cells acquire a distinctive rectangular morphology with long anteroposterior boundaries, along which the denticles form, and short ventrolateral boundaries that stain strongly for adherens junction proteins. We observe that ventrolateral denticle cell boundaries are also convoluted, suggesting that the strong adherens staining results, at least in part, from the additional membrane in these regions. Embryos ...
Source: Fly - July 26, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Hirano M, Neff D, Collier S Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Feminizing cholinergic neurons in a male Drosophila nervous system enhances aggression.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Previous studies in Drosophila have demonstrated that whether flies fight like males or females can be switched by selectively manipulating genes of the sex determination hierarchy in male and female nervous systems. Here we extend these studies by demonstrating that changing the sex of cholinergic neurons in male fruit fly nervous systems via expression of the transformer gene increases the levels of aggression shown by the flies without altering the way the flies fight. Transformer manipulation in this way does not change phototaxis, geotaxis, locomotion or odor avoidance of the mutant males compared to controls. Cho...
Source: Fly - June 28, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Mundiyanapurath S, Chan YB, Leung AK, Kravitz EA Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Argonaute-mediated translational repression (and activation).Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
microRNAs (miRNAs) downregulate the expression of their target genes by inducing translational repression and/or mRNA decay. Under specific conditions, miRNAs can even activate translation of their target mRNAs. These processes occur via miRNA-protein complexes, or RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISCs), which contain Argonaute (Ago) subfamily protein as a core component. However, detailed mechanisms of miRNA-mediated translational regulation remain unclear. We recently reported that, in Drosophila, both of the two Ago proteins, Ago1 and Ago2, can repress translation of the target mRNAs, but by remarkably different me...
Source: Fly - June 28, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Iwasaki S, Tomari Y Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Exploring some of the physico-chemical properties of the LAMMER protein kinase DOA of Drosophila.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Members of the highly conserved LAMMER family of protein kinases have been described in all eukaryotes. LAMMER kinases possess markedly similar peptide motifs in their kinase catalytic subdomains that are responsible for phosphotransfer and substrate interaction, suggesting that family members serve similar functions in widely diverged species. This hypothesis is supported by their phosphorylation of SR and SR-related proteins in diverged species. Here we describe a 3-dimensional homology model of the catalytic domain of DOA, a representative LAMMER kinase, encoded by the Drosophila locus Darkener of apricot (Doa). Hom...
Source: Fly - March 1, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Farkaš R, Kováčiková M, Liszeková D, Beňo M, Daniš P, Rabinow L, Chase BA, Raška I Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Direct observation of female mating frequency using time-lapse photography.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
One basic condition of postmating sexual selection is that females mate more than once before fertilizing their ova. Knowledge of the frequency and extent of multiple mating in a given population or species is therefore important in order to fully understand the potential for sexual selection, in the form of sperm competition, sexual conflict and cryptic female choice. Surprisingly, there are only a handful of studies that have attempted to estimate the frequency of multiple mating in insects (including Drosophila) and none have made direct observations over extended periods of time. Here we use time-lapse photography ...
Source: Fly - March 1, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Kuijper B, Morrow EH Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Cross-generational fitness effects of infection in Drosophila melanogaster.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study we examine the fitness consequences of immune challenge in female Drosophila melanogaster by examining both direct (within generation) and indirect (between generations) costs and benefits of immune challenge. Though passing immunity to offspring has been studied in mammals for many years, only recently have researchers found evidence for a cross-generational priming response in invertebrates. By examining both potential fitness costs and benefits in the next generation, we were able to determine what effect immune challenge has on fitness. In agreement with other studies, we found a direct cost to infection,...
Source: Fly - March 1, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Linder JE, Promislow DE Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Different aubergine alleles confirm the specificity of different RNAi pathways in Drosophila melanogaster.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The crystal-Stellate system is one of the best-known examples of heterochromatin-euchromatin interaction. The components of this system are homologous repetitive sequences clustered in three regions: 12E1 and h27 on the X and h11 on the Y. The symptom of a disrupted crystal-Stellate interaction is the presence of crystals in the spermatocytes of males lacking the crystal region. Stellate silencing is based on the RNAi process. Many modifiers of this system have been isolated and many of these are involved in RNAi. One of these modifiers is aubergine(sting); this is a "gain of function" allele in somatic tissues. Here w...
Source: Fly - March 1, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Specchia V, Bozzetti MP Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

There are many ways to train a fly.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A biological understanding of memory remains one of the great quests of neuroscience. For over 30 years the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has primarily been viewed as an excellent vehicle to find 'memory genes'. However, the recent advent of sophisticated genetic tools to manipulate neural activity has meant that these genes can now be viewed within the context of functioning neural circuits. A holistic understanding of memory in flies is therefore now a realistic goal. Larvae and adult flies exhibit remarkable behavioral complexity and they can both be trained in a number of ways. In this review, our intention is ...
Source: Fly - January 24, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Pitman JL, Dasgupta S, Krashes MJ, Leung B, Perrat PN, Waddell S Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Making metabolic decisions in Drosophila.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Physiology and behavior have historically been treated as separate subjects in the study of Drosophila. The latter is mentioned mainly in the context of neurobiology, while the former has been considered to take in studies of metabolism, cell biology and anatomy, among others. Of late, the line distinguishing physiology and behavior has become thinner, and this is exceptionally apparent in recent studies of nutrient signaling and of the regulation of feeding. This review represents a brief examination of the nexus between these intersecting fields of research in Drosophila. Other recently published reviews(1,2) serve a...
Source: Fly - January 8, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Buch S, Pankratz MJ Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Hippo signaling pathway and organ size control.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Initially discovered in Drosophila, the Hippo (Hpo) pathway has been recognized as a conserved signaling pathway that controls organ size during development by restricting cell growth and proliferation and by promoting apoptosis. In addition, abnormal activities of several Hpo pathway components have been implicated in human cancer. Here, we review the current understanding of the molecular and cellular basis of Hpo signaling in development and tumorigenesis, and discuss how the Hpo pathway integrates spatial and temporal signals to control tissue growth and organ size. PMID: 19164949 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Fly)
Source: Fly - January 7, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Zhang L, Yue T, Jiang J Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Flies as the ointment: Drosophila modeling to enhance drug discovery.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Development of a drug and its safe therapeutic application necessitates using animal models for testing purposes. While testing with mammalian models is essential prior to approval for human trials, the use of invertebrate animal models that are amenable to molecular genetic manipulations provide experimental and biological advantages that can streamline the discovery and testing process. Among the benefits of a genetics-based approach is the ability to screen for genes/proteins that may be novel drug targets, and the expedited development of genetic backgrounds that more accurately reflect a specific disease state. An...
Source: Fly - January 6, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Bell AJ, McBride SM, Dockendorff TC Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Regulation and function of the melanization reaction in Drosophila.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The melanization reaction, involving the synthesis of melanin to encapsulate pathogens, is a prominent immune response in Drosophila, the mosquito and other insects and arthropods. Biochemical studies with large insects have defined a basic model for how melanization is activated and regulated upon microbial infection. In this model, recognition of a microorganism triggers a serine protease cascade that activates phenol oxidase (PO), a key enzyme in the melanin biosynthetic pathway, and serpin-type protease inhibitors are involved in inhibiting the cascade. In the past few years, genetic studies in Drosophila have iden...
Source: Fly - January 2, 2009 Category: Biology Authors: Tang H Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Using whole genome presence/absence data to untangle function in 12 Drosophila genomes.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The Drosophila 12 genome data set was used to construct whole genome, gene family presence/absence matrices using a broad range of E value cutoffs as criteria for gene family inclusion. The various matrices generated behave differently in phylogenetic analyses as a function of the e-value employed. Based on an optimality criterion that maximizes internal corroboration of information, we show that values of e(-105) to e(-125) extract the most internally consistent phylogenetic signal. Functional class of most genes and gene families can be accurately determined based on the D. melanogaster genome annotation. We used the...
Source: Fly - November 24, 2008 Category: Biology Authors: Rosenfeld JR, Desalle R, Lee EK, O'Grady P Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Defects in nuclear transport enhance segregation distortion.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19077541 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Fly)
Source: Fly - November 23, 2008 Category: Biology Authors: McElroy JM, McLean RA, McLean JR Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Upregulation of glypicans in hippo mutants alters the coordinated activity of morphogens.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The function of the conserved Drosophila Hippo signaling pathway has been shown to be required to limit cell proliferation. Several studies have identified different target genes of this pathway that could modulate this function. However, the ectopic expression of these genes cannot account for all of the hyperplasic and pattern defects displayed by Hippo signaling mutants. We have recently identified two new targets of the Hippo pathway, the heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) encoded by division abnormally delayed (dally) and dally-like protein (dlp). The function of these glypicans is required to modulate the acti...
Source: Fly - November 21, 2008 Category: Biology Authors: Rodríguez I, Baena-Lopez LA, Baonza A Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Whole-mount in situ hybridization detection of mRNA in GFP-marked Drosophila imaginal disc mosaic clones.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Protocols for both generation of mosaic clones and whole-mount in situ hybridization detection of mRNA have led to an advanced understanding of Drosophila development. A simple means of combining these techniques for staining of imaginal discs would be useful, as it would allow for analysis of mRNA transcripts in marked mosaic clones. However, few researchers attempt such experiments due to the technical difficulty of simultaneously detecting clones and mRNA transcripts. Furthermore, maintaining the ability to use GFP-marked clones is desirable. However, typical Drosophila in situ hybridization protocols result in loss...
Source: Fly - November 21, 2008 Category: Biology Authors: Vanzomeren-Dohm A, Flannery E, Duman-Scheel M Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Patterns of natural selection at the Alcohol dehydrogenase gene of Drosophila americana.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Similar outcomes are often observed in species exposed to similar selective regimes, but it is unclear how often the same mechanism of adaptive evolution is followed. Here we present an analysis of selection affecting sequence variation in the Alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) gene of Drosophila americana, a species endemic to a large climate range that has been colonized by D. melanogaster. Unlike D. melanogaster, there is no evidence of selection on allozymes of ADH across the sampled range. This indicates that if there has been a similar adaptive response to climate in D. americana, it is not within the coding region of A...
Source: Fly - September 24, 2008 Category: Biology Authors: Sheeley SL, McAllister BF Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Distinct heparan sulfate compositions in wild-type and pipe-mutant eggshell matrix.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Spatial information embedded in the extracellular matrix establishes the dorsoventral polarity of the Drosophila embryo through the ventral activity of a serine protease cascade. Pipe is a Golgi-localized protein responsible for generating this spatial information during oogenesis through sulfation of unknown glycans. Although Pipe has sequence homology to glycosaminoglycan 2-O-sulfotransferases, its activity and authentic substrates have not been demonstrated and genetic evidence has argued against a role for glycosaminoglycans in dorsoventral polarity establishment. Here, direct examination of matrix glycosaminoglyca...
Source: Fly - July 31, 2008 Category: Biology Authors: Park Y, Zhang Z, Linhardt RJ, Lemosy EK Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Tandem affinity purification in Drosophila: The advantages of the GS-TAP system.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Tandem affinity purification (TAP) has been widely used for the analysis of protein complexes. We investigated the parameters of the recently developed TAP method (GS-TAP) and its application in Drosophila. This new tag combination includes two Protein G modules and a streptavidin binding peptide (SBP), separated by one or two TEV protease cleavage sites. We made pMK33-based GS-TAP vectors to allow for generation of stable cell lines using hygromycin selection and inducible expression from a metallothionein promoter, as well as pUAST-based vectors that can be used for inducible expression in flies. Rescue experiments i...
Source: Fly - July 24, 2008 Category: Biology Authors: Kyriakakis P, Tipping M, Abed L, Veraksa A Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

The Drosophila protein palmitoylome: Characterizing palmitoyl-thioesterases and DHHC palmitoyl-transferases.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Palmitoylation is the post-translational addition of a palmitate moiety to a cysteine residue through a covalent thioester bond. The addition and removal of this modification is controlled by both palmitoyl acyl-transferases and thioesterases. Using bioinformatic analysis, we identified 22 DHHC family palmitoyl acyl-transferase homologs in the Drosophila genome. We used in situ hybridization, RT-PCR, and published FlyAtlas microarray data to characterize the expression patterns of all 22 fly homologs. Our results indicate that all are expressed genes, but several, including CG1407, CG4676, CG5620, CG6017/dHIP14, CG6618...
Source: Fly - July 15, 2008 Category: Biology Authors: Bannan BA, Van Etten J, Kohler JA, Tsoi Y, Hansen NM, Sigmon S, Fowler E, Buff H, Williams TS, Ault JG, Glaser RL, Korey CA Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Changes in cuticular lipids, water loss and desiccation resistance in a tropical drosophilid: Analysis of within population variation.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We investigated within as well as between population variability in desiccation resistance, cuticular lipid mass per fly and cuticular water loss in nine geographical populations of a tropical drosophilid, Zaprionus indianus. Interestingly, the amount of cuticular lipids and desiccation resistance in this non-melanic species are significantly higher as compared with melanic Drosophila melanogaster. On the basis of isofemale line analysis, within population trait variability in cuticular lipid mass per fly is positively correlated with desiccation resistance and negatively correlated with cuticular water loss but show l...
Source: Fly - July 15, 2008 Category: Biology Authors: Parkash R, Kalra B, Sharma V Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Cloning of the neurodegeneration gene drop-dead and characterization of additional phenotypes of its mutation.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study demonstrates that mutation of the drd gene CG33968 results in a complex phenotype affecting multiple physiological systems within the fly. PMID: 18719404 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Fly)
Source: Fly - July 3, 2008 Category: Biology Authors: Blumenthal EM Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

The Abdominal-B Promoter Tethering Element Mediates Promoter-Enhancer Specificity at the Drosophila Bithorax Complex.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
At the Drosophila bithorax complex many distinct classes of cis-regulatory modules work collectively during development to control gene expression. Abdominal-B (Abd-B) is one of three homeotic genes in the BX-C and is expressed in specific presumptive abdominal segments in the embryo. The transcription of Abd-B is tightly controlled by an array of cis-regulatory modules that direct its expression over extended genomic distances. These regulatory modules include promoters, insulators, silencers, enhancers, promoter targeting sequences and the recently identified promoter tethering element (PTE). To activate gene express...
Source: Fly - December 1, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Akbari OS, Schiller BJ, Goetz SE, Ho MC, Bae E, Drewell RA Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Molecular evolution of Drosophila Cdc6, an essential DNA replication-licensing gene, suggests an adaptive choice of replication origins.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Increased size of eukaryotic genomes necessitated the use of multiple origins of DNA replication, and presumably selected for their efficient spacing to ensure rapid DNA replication. The sequence of these origins remains undetermined in metazoan genomes, leaving important questions about the selective constraints acting on replication origins unanswered. We have chosen to study the evolution of proteins that recognize and define these origins every cell cycle, as a surrogate to the direct analysis of replication origins. Among these DNA replication proteins is the essential Cdc6 protein, which acts to license origins f...
Source: Fly - June 1, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Wiggins BL, Malik HS Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

The Emergence of Fly.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 18682693 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Fly)
Source: Fly - February 13, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Fischer JA Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Vector-dependent gene expression driven by insulated p-element reporter vectors.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We report here as a cautionary note that these vectors on their own can drive reporter gene expression in the larval and pupal salivary gland. PMID: 18690057 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Fly)
Source: Fly - January 1, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Zhu Q, Halfon MS Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Genetic and behavioral analysis of natural variation in Drosophila melanogaster pupation position.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Drosophila melanogaster pupae are exposed to many biotic and abiotic dangers while immobilized during several days of metamorphosis. As a passive defense mechanism, appropriate pupation site selection represents an important mitigation of these threats. Pupation site selection is sensitive to genetic and environmental influences, but the specific mechanisms of the behavior are largely unknown. Using a set of 76 recombinant inbred strains we identify a single quantitative trait locus, at polytene position 56A01-C11, associated with pupation site variation. We furthermore present a detailed investigation into the wanderi...
Source: Fly - January 1, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Riedl CA, Riedl M, Mackay TF, Sokolowski MB Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Reproductive tract interactions contribute to isolation in Drosophila.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The process of speciation requires the development of isolating mechanisms that act as barriers to gene flow between incipient species. Such mechanisms can occur at three different levels: precopulatory or behavioral isolation, postcopulatory-prezygotic isolation occurring in the female reproductive tract, or postzygotic isolation resulting in hybrid sterility or inviability. Only by extensively studying all three types of barriers in young species pairs can we begin to understand the evolution of early reproductive incompatibilities, which may be important to the speciation process. Although precopulatory and postzygo...
Source: Fly - January 1, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Kelleher ES, Markow TA Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Why clone flies? Using cloned Drosophila to monitor epigenetic defects.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Since the birth of the first cloned sheep in 1996, advances in nuclear transplantation have led to both the creation of genetically tailored stem cells and the generation of a number of cloned organisms. The list of cloned animals reared to adulthood currently includes the frog, sheep, mouse, cow, goat, pig, rabbit, cat, zebrafish, mule, horse, rat and dog. The addition of Drosophila to this elite bestiary of cloned animals has prompted the question - why clone flies? Organisms generated by nuclear transplantation suffer from a high rate of associated defects, and many of these defects appear to be related to aberrant ...
Source: Fly - January 1, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Haigh AJ, Lloyd VK Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

A Drosophila overexpression screen for modifiers of Rho signalling in cytokinesis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
To identify genes that modulate Rho signalling during cytokinesis we tested the effect of overexpressing a set of 2190 genes on an eye phenotype caused by defective Rho activation. The resulting 112 modifier loci fell into three main classes: cell cycle genes, signalling effectors and metabolic enzymes. We developed a further series of genetic tests to refine the interactors into those most likely to modify Rho signalling during cytokinesis. In addition to a number of genes previously implicated in the Rho pathway during cytokinesis, we identified four novel primary candidates: cdc14, Pitslre, PDK1 and thread/diap1. cd...
Source: Fly - January 1, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Gregory SL, Shandala T, O'Keefe L, Jones L, Murray MJ, Saint R Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Drosophila as a model for human diseases: IRB and ICREA, Barcelona, Spain, October 5-7, 2006.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 18690062 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Fly)
Source: Fly - January 1, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Tountas NA, Fortini ME Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Roles for Drp1, a dynamin-related protein, and milton, a kinesin-associated protein, in mitochondrial segregation, unfurling and elongation during Drosophila spermatogenesis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Mitochondria undergo dramatic rearrangement during Drosophila spermatogenesis. In wild type testes, the many small mitochondria present in pre-meiotic spermatocytes later aggregate, fuse, and interwrap in post-meiotic haploid spermatids to form the spherical Nebenkern, whose two giant mitochondrial compartments later unfurl and elongate beside the growing flagellar axoneme. Drp1 encodes a dynamin-related protein whose homologs in many organisms mediate mitochondrial fission and whose Drosophila homolog is known to govern mitochondrial morphology in neurons. The milton gene encodes an adaptor protein that links mitochon...
Source: Fly - January 1, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Aldridge AC, Benson LP, Siegenthaler MM, Whigham BT, Stowers RS, Hales KG Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals

Matter arising: off-targets and genome-scale RNAi screens in Drosophila.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Recently, the issue of off-target effects (OTEs) associated with long double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) used in RNAi screens, such as those performed at the Drosophila RNAi Screening Center and other laboratories, has become a focus of great interest and some concern. Although OTEs have been recognized as an important source of false positives in mammalian studies (where short siRNAs are used as triggers), they were generally thought to be inconsequential in Drosophila RNAi experiments because of the use of long dsRNAs. Two recent papers have disputed this contention and show that significant off-target effects can take pl...
Source: Fly - January 1, 2007 Category: Biology Authors: Perrimon N, Mathey-Prevot B Tags: Fly (Austin) Source Type: journals