microPublication biology最新文献

Alternaria alternata , a fungus that causes plant diseases, is also a Dark Septate Endophyte (DSE) that can enhance host plant growth by improving access to soil nutrients like nitrogen. To test the environmental factors influencing this relationship, we explored whether A. alternata can utilize both organic and inorganic nitrogen. Our results showed that an A. alternata isolate grew 133% larger in an inorganic nitrogen medium than in an organic nitrogen medium. These findings suggest the need for further research on other DSE taxa and nitrogen forms to better understand fungal nitrogen use.

Gene model for the ortholog of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E1 ( eIF4E1 ) in the May 2011 (Agencourt dana_caf1/DanaCAF1) Genome Assembly (GenBank Accession: GCA_000005115.1 ) of Drosophila ananassae . This ortholog was characterized as part of a developing dataset to study the evolution of the Insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway (IIS) across the genus Drosophila using the Genomics Education Partnership gene annotation protocol for Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences.

Phytosulfokine (PSK) signalling promotes drought adaptation in drought-sensitive plants. However, whether naturally drought-tolerant plants deploy PSK signalling in drought is unknown. We are using two sorghum varieties with different drought response phenotypes to investigate tolerance mechanisms. We show that PSK signalling components have high constitutive expression before stress in the drought-tolerant variety. In contrast, gene expression is low in the drought-sensitive variety and is induced after drought exposure. Ability of the drought-tolerant sorghum variety to maintain elevated PSK signalling under optimal water availability suggests that genetic and physiological factors driving drought tolerance may be linked to elevated constitutive PSK signalling.

Two-pore domain potassium channels, also known as K2P channels, play vital roles in maintaining the resting membrane potential in excitable cells, affecting a variety of physiological processes across species. The Caenorhabditis elegans ( C. elegans ) genome contains 46 different K2P-encoding genes, yet most of their functions remain unknown. Here, we have investigated the possible roles of two C. elegans K2P channel genes - twk-26 and twk-46 - that are expressed in the egg-laying neural circuit by characterizing the egg-laying behavior of null mutants generated by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. However, using a variety of assays, we did not observe significant differences in egg-laying behavior between twk-26 and twk-46 mutants and wild-type worms .

Drosophila melanogaster has been established as a reliable in vivo model for studying human diseases. However, the varied designs of such studies and the different origins of the strains have significantly contributed to metabolic and molecular differences between strains. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder involving the loss of dopaminergic neurons, leading to various motor and non-motor symptoms including but not limited to bradykinesia, postural instability, cognitive decline, and gut dysbiosis. Chronic exposure to toxins such as rotenone can induce neuronal cell death. We have developed a sporadic PD model by direct feeding of rotenone-supplemented food to Drosophila melanogaster wild-type strains, which has previously been shown to cause neuronal cell death and used to mimic PD in Drosophila. Upon exposure to rotenone in two wild-type strains ( Oregon-R and Canton-S) , differences in their climbing ability and lifespan were monitored. We found that the degree of motor defects upon rotenone exposure is higher in Oregon-R compared to age-matched Canton-S flies. We also observed that the Canton-S flies (rotenone-fed and non-rotenone-fed) exhibited a lower survival percentage than Oregon-R flies. However, the climbing defects in Canton-S flies are not as pronounced as in Oregon-R flies. The mechanism(s) involved in such differential effects in different wild-type Drosophila strains are yet to be explored and may provide a perspective on differential symptoms of PD patients belonging to different demographics.

The Drosophila glypican Dally-like protein (Dlp) is an evolutionarily-conserved cell-surface protein that modulates extracellular distribution of several secreted ligands for cell signaling. Several fly lines expressing tagged dlp have been used to study the role of Dlp in vivo including the PBac{602.P.SVS-1}dlp ^[CPTI000445] protein-trap line, which encodes StrepII-Venus-StrepII (SVS)-tagged Dlp from the endogenous locus. dlp is essential for embryonic development, and the SVS-dlp line is homozygous viable. Although this suggests that the SVS-tagged Dlp is functional, it is possible that that the SVS-dlp flies produce wild-type dlp isoform through alternative splicing, contributing to their survival. Here, we used a molecular analysis approach to show that the SVS-dlp flies do not produce wild-type isoform, confirming that the SVS-tagged Dlp is indeed functional.

Although most marine invertebrates are experiencing multiple environmental stressors simultaneously, the transcriptome-wide gene expression responses to multiple stressors remain understudied. We used RNA-sequencing to assess the transcriptomic responses to heat stress, starvation, and heat stress plus starvation in the red abalone Haliotis rufescens. Results indicate that the response to each stressor is distinct and is characterized by unique gene functions. The heat stress plus starvation treatment produced the largest transcriptomic response, including a significant upregulation of genes involved in translation. Overall, this study highlights the importance of multi-stressor experiments that reflect the complex modalities of climate change.

In response to unfavorable conditions, nematodes develop into the stress-resistant dauer larvae. Under favorable conditions, many nematodes are known to synthesize dafachronic acids (DAs) that bind to the conserved nuclear hormone receptor DAF-12 to suppress dauer development. However, the enzymes involved in the production of DAs have not been thoroughly investigated in Pristionchus pacificus . Here we show that the cytochrome P450 inhibitor Dafadine-A, which suppresses DAF-9 in DA biosynthesis in C. elegans and other nematode species, does not cause constitutive dauer formation or gonad migration defects in P. pacificus wild type. Instead, Dafadine-A may slightly reduce P. pacificus growth rate.

Alpha-Synuclein (α-Syn) is a soluble neuronal protein whose aggregation is one of the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD). We previously developed a fission yeast model of PD that recapitulates α-Syn aggregation upon high-level expression of human α-Syn. Here, we show that α-Syn aggregate formation in yeast requires Myo1 and End4 , proteins essential for the early steps of endocytosis. α-Syn expression levels in Δ myo1 and ∆end4 cells were comparable to wild-type cells, suggesting that defects in endocytosis disrupt α-Syn aggregation. These findings highlight the critical role of endocytosis in α-Syn aggregation and PD pathology.

In C. elegans , dhc-1 ( or283 ); mel-28 ( t1684 ) double mutants have a severely reduced brood size compared with each single mutant and compared to the wild type. To determine if this synthetic low-fecundity phenotype is due to reduced potential to produce gametes, we studied gonad length and distal gonad mitotic activity in dhc-1 ( or283 ) mutants, mel-28 ( t1684 ) mutants, wild-type animals, and dhc-1 ( or283 ); mel-28 ( t1684 ) double mutants. Gonad length in dhc-1 ; mel-28 double mutants was the same as the wild type. Using an antibody against phosphorylated histone H3 (PH3), we tracked mitotic activity in mutant and wild-type gonads. We found no significant difference in mitotic activity between the double mutant and the wild-type. These observations suggest that the reduced brood size in dhc-1 ; mel-28 double mutants is not caused by a mitotically-inactive gonad and instead has a different and yet-to-be-determined basis.