FlyPub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-02-19DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2024.2308737
Dominique Brunßen, Beat Suter
{"title":"Effects of unstable β-PheRS on food avoidance, growth, and development are suppressed by the appetite hormone CCHa2.","authors":"Dominique Brunßen, Beat Suter","doi":"10.1080/19336934.2024.2308737","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19336934.2024.2308737","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Amino acyl-tRNA synthetases perform diverse non-canonical functions aside from their essential role in charging tRNAs with their cognate amino acid. The phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (PheRS/FARS) is an α<sub>2</sub>β<sub>2</sub> tetramer that is needed for charging the tRNA<sup>Phe</sup> for its translation activity. Fragments of the α-subunit have been shown to display an additional, translation-independent, function that activates growth and proliferation and counteracts Notch signalling. Here we show in <i>Drosophila</i> that overexpressing the β-subunit in the context of the complete PheRS leads to larval roaming, food avoidance, slow growth, and a developmental delay that can last several days and even prevents pupation. These behavioural and developmental phenotypes are induced by PheRS expression in CCHa2<sup>+</sup> and Pros<sup>+</sup> cells. Simultaneous expression of β-PheRS, α-PheRS, and the appetite-inducing CCHa2 peptide rescued these phenotypes, linking this <i>β-PheRS</i> activity to the appetite-controlling pathway. The fragmentation dynamic of the excessive β-PheRS points to β-PheRS fragments as possible candidate inducers of these phenotypes. Because fragmentation of human FARS has also been observed in human cells and mutations in human <i>β-PheRS (FARSB)</i> can lead to problems in gaining weight, Drosophila <i>β-PheRS</i> can also serve as a model for the human phenotype and possibly also for obesity.</p>","PeriodicalId":12128,"journal":{"name":"Fly","volume":"18 1","pages":"2308737"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10880493/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139905439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
FlyPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2023.2209481
Elli M Buchert, Elizabeth A Fogarty, Christopher M Uyehara, Daniel J McKay, Laura A Buttitta
{"title":"A tissue dissociation method for ATAC-seq and CUT&RUN in <i>Drosophila</i> pupal tissues.","authors":"Elli M Buchert, Elizabeth A Fogarty, Christopher M Uyehara, Daniel J McKay, Laura A Buttitta","doi":"10.1080/19336934.2023.2209481","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19336934.2023.2209481","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chromatin accessibility, histone modifications, and transcription factor binding are highly dynamic during <i>Drosophila</i> metamorphosis and drive global changes in gene expression as larval tissues differentiate into adult structures. Unfortunately, the presence of pupa cuticle on many <i>Drosophila</i> tissues during metamorphosis prevents enzyme access to cells and has limited the use of enzymatic in situ methods for assessing chromatin accessibility and histone modifications. Here, we present a dissociation method for cuticle-bound pupal tissues that is compatible for use with ATAC-Seq and CUT&RUN to interrogate chromatin accessibility and histone modifications. We show this method provides comparable chromatin accessibility data to the non-enzymatic approach FAIRE-seq, with only a fraction of the amount of input tissue required. This approach is also compatible with CUT&RUN, which allows genome-wide mapping of histone modifications with less than 1/10th of the tissue input required for more conventional approaches such as Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Sequencing (ChIP-seq). Our protocol makes it possible to use newer, more sensitive enzymatic in situ approaches to interrogate gene regulatory networks during <i>Drosophila</i> metamorphosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":12128,"journal":{"name":"Fly","volume":"17 1","pages":"2209481"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208176/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9609652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
FlyPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2023.2192847
Luca Stickley, Rafael Koch, Emi Nagoshi
{"title":"The utility and caveat of split-GAL4s in the study of neurodegeneration.","authors":"Luca Stickley, Rafael Koch, Emi Nagoshi","doi":"10.1080/19336934.2023.2192847","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19336934.2023.2192847","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, afflicting over 1% of the population of age 60 y and above. The loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) is the primary cause of its characteristic motor symptoms. Studies using <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> and other model systems have provided much insight into the pathogenesis of PD. However, little is known why certain cell types are selectively susceptible to degeneration in PD. Here, we describe an approach to identify vulnerable subpopulations of neurons in the genetic background linked to PD in <i>Drosophila</i>, using the split-GAL4 drivers that enable genetic manipulation of a small number of defined cell populations. We identify split-GAL4 lines that target neurons selectively vulnerable in a model of <i>leucine-rich repeat kinase 2</i> (<i>LRRK2</i>)-linked familial PD, demonstrating the utility of this approach. We also show an unexpected caveat of the split-GAL4 system in ageing-related research: an age-dependent increase in the number of GAL4-labelled cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":12128,"journal":{"name":"Fly","volume":"17 1","pages":"2192847"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10038051/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9953689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
FlyPub Date : 2022-12-01DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2021.1976033
Chun Hu, Pan Feng, Meilan Chen, Yan Tang, Peter Soba
{"title":"Spatiotemporal changes in microtubule dynamics during dendritic morphogenesis.","authors":"Chun Hu, Pan Feng, Meilan Chen, Yan Tang, Peter Soba","doi":"10.1080/19336934.2021.1976033","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19336934.2021.1976033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dendritic morphogenesis requires dynamic microtubules (MTs) to form a coordinated cytoskeletal network during development. Dynamic MTs are characterized by their number, polarity and speed of polymerization. Previous studies described a correlation between anterograde MT growth and terminal branch extension in <i>Drosophila</i> dendritic arborization (da) neurons, suggesting a model that anterograde MT polymerization provides a driving force for dendritic branching. We recently found that the Ste20-like kinase Tao specifically regulates dendritic branching by controlling the number of dynamic MTs in a kinase activity-dependent fashion, without affecting MT polarity or speed. This finding raises the interesting question of how MT dynamics affects dendritic morphogenesis, and if Tao kinase activity is developmentally regulated to coordinate MT dynamics and dendritic morphogenesis. We explored the possible correlation between MT dynamics and dendritic morphogenesis together with the activity changes of Tao kinase in C1da and C4da neurons during larval development. Our data show that spatiotemporal changes in the number of dynamic MTs, but not polarity or polymerization speed, correlate with dendritic branching and Tao kinase activity. Our findings suggest that Tao kinase limits dendritic branching by controlling the abundance of dynamic MTs and we propose a novel model on how regulation of MT dynamics might influence dendritic morphogenesis.</p>","PeriodicalId":12128,"journal":{"name":"Fly","volume":"16 1","pages":"13-23"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8496546/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9188952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
FlyPub Date : 2022-12-01DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2022.2062991
Shannon L Moore, Frank C Adamini, Erik S Coopes, Dustin Godoy, Shyra J Northington, Jordan M Stewart, Richard L Tillett, Kayla L Bieser, Jacob D Kagey
{"title":"<i>Patched</i> and <i>Costal-2</i> mutations lead to differences in tissue overgrowth autonomy.","authors":"Shannon L Moore, Frank C Adamini, Erik S Coopes, Dustin Godoy, Shyra J Northington, Jordan M Stewart, Richard L Tillett, Kayla L Bieser, Jacob D Kagey","doi":"10.1080/19336934.2022.2062991","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19336934.2022.2062991","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Genetic screens are used in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> to identify genes key in the regulation of organismal development and growth. These screens have defined signalling pathways necessary for tissue and organismal development, which are evolutionarily conserved across species, including <i>Drosophila</i>. Here, we have used an FLP/FRT mosaic system to screen for conditional regulators of cell growth and cell division in the <i>Drosophila</i> eye. The conditional nature of this screen utilizes a block in the apoptotic pathway to prohibit the mosaic mutant cells from dying via apoptosis. From this screen, we identified two different mutants that mapped to the Hedgehog signalling pathway. Previously, we described a novel <i>Ptc</i> mutation and here we add to the understanding of disrupting the Hh pathway with a novel allele of <i>Cos2</i>. Both of these Hh components are negative regulators of the pathway, yet they depict mutant differences in the type of overgrowth created. <i>Ptc</i> mutations lead to overgrowth consisting of almost entirely wild-type tissue (non-autonomous overgrowth), while the <i>Cos2</i> mutation results in tissue that is overgrown in both the mutant and wild-type clones (both autonomous and non-autonomous). These differences in tissue overgrowth are consistent in the <i>Drosophila</i> eye and wing. The observed difference is correlated with different deregulation patterns of pMad, the downstream effector of DPP signalling. This finding provides insight into pathway-specific differences that help to better understand intricacies of developmental processes and human diseases that result from deregulated Hedgehog signalling, such as basal cell carcinoma.</p>","PeriodicalId":12128,"journal":{"name":"Fly","volume":"16 1","pages":"176-189"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9045829/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10603000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
FlyPub Date : 2022-12-01DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2022.2030191
Geanette Lam, Katherine Beebe, Carl S Thummel
{"title":"A direct-drive GFP reporter for studies of tracheal development in <i>Drosophila</i>.","authors":"Geanette Lam, Katherine Beebe, Carl S Thummel","doi":"10.1080/19336934.2022.2030191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19336934.2022.2030191","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The <i>Drosophila</i> tracheal system consists of a widespread tubular network that provides respiratory functions for the animal. Its development, from ten pairs of placodes in the embryo to the final stereotypical branched structure in the adult, has been extensively studied by many labs as a model system for understanding tubular epithelial morphogenesis. Throughout these studies, a <i>breathless</i> (<i>btl</i>)<i>-GAL4</i> driver has provided an invaluable tool to either mark tracheal cells during development or to manipulate gene expression in this tissue. A distinct shortcoming of this approach, however, is that <i>btl-GAL4</i> cannot be used to specifically visualize tracheal cells in the presence of other GAL4 drivers or other UAS constructs, restricting its utility. Here we describe a direct-drive <i>btl-nGFP</i> reporter that can be used as a specific marker of tracheal cells throughout development in combination with any GAL4 driver and/or UAS construct. This reporter line should facilitate the use of <i>Drosophila</i> as a model system for studies of tracheal development and tubular morphogenesis.</p>","PeriodicalId":12128,"journal":{"name":"Fly","volume":" ","pages":"105-110"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8803062/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39870583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
FlyPub Date : 2022-12-01DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2022.2087484
Yohei Nitta, Atsushi Sugie
{"title":"Studies of neurodegenerative diseases using <i>Drosophila</i> and the development of novel approaches for their analysis.","authors":"Yohei Nitta, Atsushi Sugie","doi":"10.1080/19336934.2022.2087484","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19336934.2022.2087484","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The use of <i>Drosophila</i> in neurodegenerative disease research has contributed to the identification of modifier genes for the pathology. The basis for neurodegenerative disease occurrence in <i>Drosophila</i> is the conservation of genes across species and the ability to perform rapid genetic analysis using a compact brain. Genetic findings previously discovered in <i>Drosophila</i> can reveal molecular pathologies involved in human neurological diseases in later years. Disease models using <i>Drosophila</i> began to be generated during the development of genetic engineering. In recent years, results of reverse translational research using <i>Drosophila</i> have been reported. In this review, we discuss research on neurodegenerative diseases; moreover, we introduce various methods for quantifying neurodegeneration in <i>Drosophila</i>.</p>","PeriodicalId":12128,"journal":{"name":"Fly","volume":"16 1","pages":"275-298"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9336468/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10472195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
FlyPub Date : 2022-12-01DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2021.1989248
Molly Chen, Marla B Sokolowski
{"title":"How Social Experience and Environment Impacts Behavioural Plasticity in <i>Drosophila</i>.","authors":"Molly Chen, Marla B Sokolowski","doi":"10.1080/19336934.2021.1989248","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19336934.2021.1989248","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>An organism's behaviour is influenced by its social environment. Experiences such as social isolation or crowding may have profound short or long-term effects on an individual's behaviour. The composition of the social environment also depends on the genetics and previous experiences of the individuals present, leading to additional potential outcomes from each social interaction. In this article, we review selected literature related to the social environment of the model organism <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>, and how <i>Drosophila</i> respond to variation in their social experiences throughout their lifetimes. We focus on the effects of social environment on behavioural phenotypes such as courtship, aggression, and group dynamics, as well as other phenotypes such as development and physiology. The consequences of phenotypic plasticity due to social environment are discussed with respect to the ecology and evolution of <i>Drosophila</i>. We also relate these studies to laboratory research practices involving <i>Drosophila</i> and other animals.</p>","PeriodicalId":12128,"journal":{"name":"Fly","volume":" ","pages":"68-84"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9718549/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39795704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
FlyPub Date : 2022-12-01DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2021.1953363
Tetsuo Yasugi, Makoto Sato
{"title":"Mathematical modeling of Notch dynamics in <i>Drosophila</i> neural development.","authors":"Tetsuo Yasugi, Makoto Sato","doi":"10.1080/19336934.2021.1953363","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19336934.2021.1953363","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Notch signalling is a well-conserved signalling pathway that regulates cell fate through cell-cell communication. A typical feature of Notch signalling is 'lateral inhibition', whereby two neighbouring cells of equivalent state of differentiation acquire different cell fates. Recently, mathematical and computational approaches have addressed the Notch dynamics in <i>Drosophila</i> neural development. Typical examples of lateral inhibition are observed in the specification of neural stem cells in the embryo and sensory organ precursors in the thorax. In eye disc development, Notch signalling cooperates with other signalling pathways to define the evenly spaced positioning of the photoreceptor cells. The interplay between Notch and epidermal growth factor receptor signalling regulates the timing of neural stem cell differentiation in the optic lobe. In this review, we summarize the theoretical studies that have been conducted to elucidate the Notch dynamics in these systems and discuss the advantages of combining mathematical models with biological experiments.</p>","PeriodicalId":12128,"journal":{"name":"Fly","volume":" ","pages":"24-36"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8496537/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39510420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
FlyPub Date : 2022-12-01DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2021.2016327
Anneli Hoikkala, Noora Poikela
{"title":"Adaptation and ecological speciation in seasonally varying environments at high latitudes: <i>Drosophila virilis</i> group.","authors":"Anneli Hoikkala, Noora Poikela","doi":"10.1080/19336934.2021.2016327","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19336934.2021.2016327","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Living in high latitudes and altitudes sets specific requirements on species' ability to forecast seasonal changes and to respond to them in an appropriate way. Adaptation into diverse environmental conditions can also lead to ecological speciation through habitat isolation or by inducing changes in traits that influence assortative mating. In this review, we explain how the unique time-measuring systems of <i>Drosophila virilis</i> group species have enabled the species to occupy high latitudes and how the traits involved in species reproduction and survival exhibit strong linkage with latitudinally varying photoperiodic and climatic conditions. We also describe variation in reproductive barriers between the populations of two species with overlapping distributions and show how local adaptation and the reinforcement of prezygotic barriers have created partial reproductive isolation between conspecific populations. Finally, we consider the role of species-specific chromosomal inversions and the X chromosome in the development of reproductive barriers between diverging lineages.</p>","PeriodicalId":12128,"journal":{"name":"Fly","volume":" ","pages":"85-104"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8786326/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39846841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}