Browsing by Subject "Drosophila melanogaster"
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Item Open Access A Functionally Conserved Gene Regulatory Network Module Governing Olfactory Neuron Diversity.(PLoS Genet, 2016-01) Li, Qingyun; Barish, Scott; Okuwa, Sumie; Maciejewski, Abigail; Brandt, Alicia T; Reinhold, Dominik; Jones, Corbin D; Volkan, Pelin CayirliogluSensory neuron diversity is required for organisms to decipher complex environmental cues. In Drosophila, the olfactory environment is detected by 50 different olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) classes that are clustered in combinations within distinct sensilla subtypes. Each sensilla subtype houses stereotypically clustered 1-4 ORN identities that arise through asymmetric divisions from a single multipotent sensory organ precursor (SOP). How each class of SOPs acquires a unique differentiation potential that accounts for ORN diversity is unknown. Previously, we reported a critical component of SOP diversification program, Rotund (Rn), increases ORN diversity by generating novel developmental trajectories from existing precursors within each independent sensilla type lineages. Here, we show that Rn, along with BarH1/H2 (Bar), Bric-à-brac (Bab), Apterous (Ap) and Dachshund (Dac), constitutes a transcription factor (TF) network that patterns the developing olfactory tissue. This network was previously shown to pattern the segmentation of the leg, which suggests that this network is functionally conserved. In antennal imaginal discs, precursors with diverse ORN differentiation potentials are selected from concentric rings defined by unique combinations of these TFs along the proximodistal axis of the developing antennal disc. The combinatorial code that demarcates each precursor field is set up by cross-regulatory interactions among different factors within the network. Modifications of this network lead to predictable changes in the diversity of sensilla subtypes and ORN pools. In light of our data, we propose a molecular map that defines each unique SOP fate. Our results highlight the importance of the early prepatterning gene regulatory network as a modulator of SOP and terminally differentiated ORN diversity. Finally, our model illustrates how conserved developmental strategies are used to generate neuronal diversity.Item Open Access A Genetic Mosaic Screen Reveals Ecdysone-Responsive Genes Regulating Drosophila Oogenesis.(G3 (Bethesda, Md.), 2016-08) Ables, Elizabeth T; Hwang, Grace H; Finger, Danielle S; Hinnant, Taylor D; Drummond-Barbosa, DanielaMultiple aspects of Drosophila oogenesis, including germline stem cell activity, germ cell differentiation, and follicle survival, are regulated by the steroid hormone ecdysone. While the transcriptional targets of ecdysone signaling during development have been studied extensively, targets in the ovary remain largely unknown. Early studies of salivary gland polytene chromosomes led to a model in which ecdysone stimulates a hierarchical transcriptional cascade, wherein a core group of ecdysone-sensitive transcription factors induce tissue-specific responses by activating secondary branches of transcriptional targets. More recently, genome-wide approaches have identified hundreds of putative ecdysone-responsive targets. Determining whether these putative targets represent bona fide targets in vivo, however, requires that they be tested via traditional mutant analysis in a cell-type specific fashion. To investigate the molecular mechanisms whereby ecdysone signaling regulates oogenesis, we used genetic mosaic analysis to screen putative ecdysone-responsive genes for novel roles in the control of the earliest steps of oogenesis. We identified a cohort of genes required for stem cell maintenance, stem and progenitor cell proliferation, and follicle encapsulation, growth, and survival. These genes encode transcription factors, chromatin modulators, and factors required for RNA transport, stability, and ribosome biogenesis, suggesting that ecdysone might control a wide range of molecular processes during oogenesis. Our results suggest that, although ecdysone target genes are known to have cell type-specific roles, many ecdysone response genes that control larval or pupal cell types at developmental transitions are used reiteratively in the adult ovary. These results provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms by which ecdysone signaling controls oogenesis, laying new ground for future studies.Item Open Access A genome-wide RNAi screen reveals multiple regulators of caspase activation.(The Journal of cell biology, 2007-11-12) Yi, Caroline H; Sogah, Dodzie K; Boyce, Michael; Degterev, Alexei; Christofferson, Dana E; Yuan, JunyingApoptosis is an evolutionally conserved cellular suicide mechanism that can be activated in response to a variety of stressful stimuli. Increasing evidence suggests that apoptotic regulation relies on specialized cell death signaling pathways and also integrates diverse signals from additional regulatory circuits, including those of cellular homeostasis. We present a genome-wide RNA interference screen to systematically identify regulators of apoptosis induced by DNA damage in Drosophila melanogaster cells. We identify 47 double- stranded RNA that target a functionally diverse set of genes, including several with a known function in promoting cell death. Further characterization uncovers 10 genes that influence caspase activation upon the removal of Drosophila inhibitor of apoptosis 1. This set includes the Drosophila initiator caspase Dronc and, surprisingly, several metabolic regulators, a candidate tumor suppressor, Charlatan, and an N-acetyltransferase, ARD1. Importantly, several of these genes show functional conservation in regulating apoptosis in mammalian cells. Our data suggest a previously unappreciated fundamental connection between various cellular processes and caspase-dependent cell death.Item Open Access A kinesin motor in a force-producing conformation.(BMC Struct Biol, 2010-07-05) Heuston, Elisabeth; Bronner, C Eric; Kull, F Jon; Endow, Sharyn ABACKGROUND: Kinesin motors hydrolyze ATP to produce force and move along microtubules, converting chemical energy into work by a mechanism that is only poorly understood. Key transitions and intermediate states in the process are still structurally uncharacterized, and remain outstanding questions in the field. Perturbing the motor by introducing point mutations could stabilize transitional or unstable states, providing critical information about these rarer states. RESULTS: Here we show that mutation of a single residue in the kinesin-14 Ncd causes the motor to release ADP and hydrolyze ATP faster than wild type, but move more slowly along microtubules in gliding assays, uncoupling nucleotide hydrolysis from force generation. A crystal structure of the motor shows a large rotation of the stalk, a conformation representing a force-producing stroke of Ncd. Three C-terminal residues of Ncd, visible for the first time, interact with the central beta-sheet and dock onto the motor core, forming a structure resembling the kinesin-1 neck linker, which has been proposed to be the primary force-generating mechanical element of kinesin-1. CONCLUSIONS: Force generation by minus-end Ncd involves docking of the C-terminus, which forms a structure resembling the kinesin-1 neck linker. The mechanism by which the plus- and minus-end motors produce force to move to opposite ends of the microtubule appears to involve the same conformational changes, but distinct structural linkers. Unstable ADP binding may destabilize the motor-ADP state, triggering Ncd stalk rotation and C-terminus docking, producing a working stroke of the motor.Item Open Access A paired-end sequencing strategy to map the complex landscape of transcription initiation.(Nature methods, 2010-07) Ni, Ting; Corcoran, David L; Rach, Elizabeth A; Song, Shen; Spana, Eric P; Gao, Yuan; Ohler, Uwe; Zhu, JunRecent studies using high-throughput sequencing protocols have uncovered the complexity of mammalian transcription by RNA polymerase II, helping to define several initiation patterns in which transcription start sites (TSSs) cluster in both narrow and broad genomic windows. Here we describe a paired-end sequencing strategy, which enables more robust mapping and characterization of capped transcripts. We used this strategy to explore the transcription initiation landscape in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo. Extending the previous findings in mammals, we found that fly promoters exhibited distinct initiation patterns, which were linked to specific promoter sequence motifs. Furthermore, we identified many 5' capped transcripts originating from coding exons; our analyses support that they are unlikely the result of alternative TSSs, but rather the product of post-transcriptional modifications. We demonstrated paired-end TSS analysis to be a powerful method to uncover the transcriptional complexity of eukaryotic genomes.Item Open Access An entirely cell-based system to generate single-chain antibodies against cell surface receptors.(2008) Chen, Yu-Hsun JasonThe generation of recombinant antibodies (Abs) using phage display is a proven method to obtain a large variety of Abs that bind with high affinity to a given antigen (Ag). Traditionally, the generation of single chain Abs depends on the use of recombinant proteins in several stages of the procedure. This can be a problem, especially in the case of cell surface receptors, because Abs generated and selected against recombinant proteins may not bind the same protein expressed on a cell surface in its native form and because the expression of some receptors as recombinant proteins is problematic. To overcome these difficulties, we developed a strategy to generate single chain Abs that does not require the use of purified protein at any stage of the procedure. In this strategy, stably transfected cells are used for the immunization of mice, measuring Ab responses to immunization, panning the phage library, high throughputs creening of arrayed phage clones, and characterization of recombinant single chain variable regions(scFvs). This strategy was used to generate a panel of single chain Abs specific for the innate immunity receptor Toll‐like receptor2 (TLR2). Once generated, individual scFvs were subcloned into an expression vector allowing the production of recombinant antibodies in insect cells, thus avoiding the contamination of recombinant Abs with microbial products. This cell‐based system efficiently generates Abs that bind native molecules displayed on cell surfaces, bypasses the requirement of recombinant protein production, and avoids risks of microbial component contamination. However, an inconvenience of this strategy is that it requires construction of a new library for each target TLR. This problem might be solved by using non‐immune antibody libraries to obtain antibodies against multiple TLRs. Non‐immune libraries contain a wide variety of antibodies but these are often low affinity, while immune libraries, derived from immunized animals, containa high frequency of high affinity antibodies, but are typically limited to a single antigen. In addition, it can be difficult to produce non‐immune libraries with sufficient complexity to select Abs against multiple Ags. Because the re‐assortment of VH and VL regions that occurs during antibody library construction greatly increases library complexity, we hypothesized that an immune antibody library produced against one member of a protein family would contain antibodies specific for other members of the same protein family. Here, we tested this hypothesis by mining an existing anti‐hTLR2 antibody library for antibodies specific for other members of the TLR family. This procedure, which we refer to as homolog mining, proved to be effective. Using a cell‐based system to pan and screen our anti‐hTLR2 library, we identified single chain antibodies specific for three of the four hTLR2 homologs we targeted. The antibodies identified, anti‐murine TLR2, anti‐hTLR5, and anti‐hTLR6, bind specifically to their target, with no cross‐reactivity to hTLR2 or other TLRs tested. These results demonstrate that combinatorial re‐assortment of VH and VL fragments during Ab library construction increases Ab repertoire complexity, allowing antibody libraries produced by immunization with one antigen to be used to obtain antibodies specific to related antigens. The principle of homolog mining may be extended to other protein families and will facilitate and accelerate antibody production processes. In conclusion, we developed an entirely cell‐based method to generate antibodies that bind to native molecules on the cell surface, while eliminating the requirement of recombinant proteins and the risk of microbial component contamination. With homolog mining, this system is capable of generating antibodies not only against the original immunized Ag, but also against homologous Ags. In combination, this system proved to be an effective and efficient means for generating multiple antibodies that bind to multiple related Ags as they are displayed on cell surfaces.Item Open Access Apoptosis in Drosophila: neither fish nor fowl (nor man, nor worm).(J Cell Sci, 2005-05-01) Kornbluth, Sally; White, KristinStudies in a wide variety of organisms have produced a general model for the induction of apoptosis in which multiple signaling pathways lead ultimately to activation of the caspase family of proteases. Once activated, these enzymes cleave key cellular substrates to promote the orderly dismantling of dying cells. A broad similarity exists in the cell death pathways operating in different organisms and there is a clear evolutionary conservation of apoptotic regulators such as caspases, Bcl-2 family members, inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins, IAP antagonists and caspase activators. Despite this, studies in Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila and vertebrates have revealed some apparent differences both in the way apoptosis is regulated and in the way individual molecules contribute to the propagation of the death signal. For example, whereas cytochrome c released from mitochondria clearly promotes caspase activation in vertebrates, there is no documented role for cytochrome c in C. elegans apoptosis and its role in Drosophila is highly controversial. In addition, the apoptotic potency of IAP antagonists appears to be greater in Drosophila than in vertebrates, indicating that IAPs may be of different relative importance in different organisms. Thus, although Drosophila, worms and humans share a host of apoptotic regulators, the way in which they function may not be identical.Item Open Access Automatic annotation of spatial expression patterns via sparse Bayesian factor models.(PLoS Comput Biol, 2011-07) Pruteanu-Malinici, Iulian; Mace, Daniel L; Ohler, UweAdvances in reporters for gene expression have made it possible to document and quantify expression patterns in 2D-4D. In contrast to microarrays, which provide data for many genes but averaged and/or at low resolution, images reveal the high spatial dynamics of gene expression. Developing computational methods to compare, annotate, and model gene expression based on images is imperative, considering that available data are rapidly increasing. We have developed a sparse Bayesian factor analysis model in which the observed expression diversity of among a large set of high-dimensional images is modeled by a small number of hidden common factors. We apply this approach on embryonic expression patterns from a Drosophila RNA in situ image database, and show that the automatically inferred factors provide for a meaningful decomposition and represent common co-regulation or biological functions. The low-dimensional set of factor mixing weights is further used as features by a classifier to annotate expression patterns with functional categories. On human-curated annotations, our sparse approach reaches similar or better classification of expression patterns at different developmental stages, when compared to other automatic image annotation methods using thousands of hard-to-interpret features. Our study therefore outlines a general framework for large microscopy data sets, in which both the generative model itself, as well as its application for analysis tasks such as automated annotation, can provide insight into biological questions.Item Open Access Chromatin Modulatory Proteins and Olfactory Receptor Signaling in the Refinement and Maintenance of Fruitless Expression in Olfactory Receptor Neurons.(PLoS Biol, 2016-04) Hueston, Catherine E; Olsen, Douglas; Li, Qingyun; Okuwa, Sumie; Peng, Bo; Wu, Jianni; Volkan, Pelin CayirliogluDuring development, sensory neurons must choose identities that allow them to detect specific signals and connect with appropriate target neurons. Ultimately, these sensory neurons will successfully integrate into appropriate neural circuits to generate defined motor outputs, or behavior. This integration requires a developmental coordination between the identity of the neuron and the identity of the circuit. The mechanisms that underlie this coordination are currently unknown. Here, we describe two modes of regulation that coordinate the sensory identities of Drosophila melanogaster olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) involved in sex-specific behaviors with the sex-specific behavioral circuit identity marker fruitless (fru). The first mode involves a developmental program that coordinately restricts to appropriate ORNs the expression of fru and two olfactory receptors (Or47b and Ir84a) involved in sex-specific behaviors. This regulation requires the chromatin modulatory protein Alhambra (Alh). The second mode relies on the signaling from the olfactory receptors through CamK and histone acetyl transferase p300/CBP to maintain ORN-specific fru expression. Our results highlight two feed-forward regulatory mechanisms with both developmentally hardwired and olfactory receptor activity-dependent components that establish and maintain fru expression in ORNs. Such a dual mechanism of fru regulation in ORNs might be a trait of neurons driving plastic aspects of sex-specific behaviors.Item Open Access Cytokinesis proteins Tum and Pav have a nuclear role in Wnt regulation.(J Cell Sci, 2010-07-01) Jones, Whitney M; Chao, Anna T; Zavortink, Michael; Saint, Robert; Bejsovec, AmyWg/Wnt signals specify cell fates in both invertebrate and vertebrate embryos and maintain stem-cell populations in many adult tissues. Deregulation of the Wnt pathway can transform cells to a proliferative fate, leading to cancer. We have discovered that two Drosophila proteins that are crucial for cytokinesis have a second, largely independent, role in restricting activity of the Wnt pathway. The fly homolog of RacGAP1, Tumbleweed (Tum)/RacGAP50C, and its binding partner, the kinesin-like protein Pavarotti (Pav), negatively regulate Wnt activity in fly embryos and in cultured mammalian cells. Unlike many known regulators of the Wnt pathway, these molecules do not affect stabilization of Arm/beta-catenin (betacat), the principal effector molecule in Wnt signal transduction. Rather, they appear to act downstream of betacat stabilization to control target-gene transcription. Both Tum and Pav accumulate in the nuclei of interphase cells, a location that is spatially distinct from their cleavage-furrow localization during cytokinesis. We show that this nuclear localization is essential for their role in Wnt regulation. Thus, we have identified two modulators of the Wnt pathway that have shared functions in cell division, which hints at a possible link between cytokinesis and Wnt activity during tumorigenesis.Item Open Access Drosophila muller f elements maintain a distinct set of genomic properties over 40 million years of evolution.(G3 (Bethesda, Md.), 2015-03-04) Leung, Wilson; Shaffer, Christopher D; Reed, Laura K; Smith, Sheryl T; Barshop, William; Dirkes, William; Dothager, Matthew; Lee, Paul; Wong, Jeannette; Xiong, David; Yuan, Han; Bedard, James EJ; Machone, Joshua F; Patterson, Seantay D; Price, Amber L; Turner, Bryce A; Robic, Srebrenka; Luippold, Erin K; McCartha, Shannon R; Walji, Tezin A; Walker, Chelsea A; Saville, Kenneth; Abrams, Marita K; Armstrong, Andrew R; Armstrong, William; Bailey, Robert J; Barberi, Chelsea R; Beck, Lauren R; Blaker, Amanda L; Blunden, Christopher E; Brand, Jordan P; Brock, Ethan J; Brooks, Dana W; Brown, Marie; Butzler, Sarah C; Clark, Eric M; Clark, Nicole B; Collins, Ashley A; Cotteleer, Rebecca J; Cullimore, Peterson R; Dawson, Seth G; Docking, Carter T; Dorsett, Sasha L; Dougherty, Grace A; Downey, Kaitlyn A; Drake, Andrew P; Earl, Erica K; Floyd, Trevor G; Forsyth, Joshua D; Foust, Jonathan D; Franchi, Spencer L; Geary, James F; Hanson, Cynthia K; Harding, Taylor S; Harris, Cameron B; Heckman, Jonathan M; Holderness, Heather L; Howey, Nicole A; Jacobs, Dontae A; Jewell, Elizabeth S; Kaisler, Maria; Karaska, Elizabeth A; Kehoe, James L; Koaches, Hannah C; Koehler, Jessica; Koenig, Dana; Kujawski, Alexander J; Kus, Jordan E; Lammers, Jennifer A; Leads, Rachel R; Leatherman, Emily C; Lippert, Rachel N; Messenger, Gregory S; Morrow, Adam T; Newcomb, Victoria; Plasman, Haley J; Potocny, Stephanie J; Powers, Michelle K; Reem, Rachel M; Rennhack, Jonathan P; Reynolds, Katherine R; Reynolds, Lyndsey A; Rhee, Dong K; Rivard, Allyson B; Ronk, Adam J; Rooney, Meghan B; Rubin, Lainey S; Salbert, Luke R; Saluja, Rasleen K; Schauder, Taylor; Schneiter, Allison R; Schulz, Robert W; Smith, Karl E; Spencer, Sarah; Swanson, Bryant R; Tache, Melissa A; Tewilliager, Ashley A; Tilot, Amanda K; VanEck, Eve; Villerot, Matthew M; Vylonis, Megan B; Watson, David T; Wurzler, Juliana A; Wysocki, Lauren M; Yalamanchili, Monica; Zaborowicz, Matthew A; Emerson, Julia A; Ortiz, Carlos; Deuschle, Frederic J; DiLorenzo, Lauren A; Goeller, Katie L; Macchi, Christopher R; Muller, Sarah E; Pasierb, Brittany D; Sable, Joseph E; Tucci, Jessica M; Tynon, Marykathryn; Dunbar, David A; Beken, Levent H; Conturso, Alaina C; Danner, Benjamin L; DeMichele, Gabriella A; Gonzales, Justin A; Hammond, Maureen S; Kelley, Colleen V; Kelly, Elisabeth A; Kulich, Danielle; Mageeney, Catherine M; McCabe, Nikie L; Newman, Alyssa M; Spaeder, Lindsay A; Tumminello, Richard A; Revie, Dennis; Benson, Jonathon M; Cristostomo, Michael C; DaSilva, Paolo A; Harker, Katherine S; Jarrell, Jenifer N; Jimenez, Luis A; Katz, Brandon M; Kennedy, William R; Kolibas, Kimberly S; LeBlanc, Mark T; Nguyen, Trung T; Nicolas, Daniel S; Patao, Melissa D; Patao, Shane M; Rupley, Bryan J; Sessions, Bridget J; Weaver, Jennifer A; Goodman, Anya L; Alvendia, Erica L; Baldassari, Shana M; Brown, Ashley S; Chase, Ian O; Chen, Maida; Chiang, Scott; Cromwell, Avery B; Custer, Ashley F; DiTommaso, Tia M; El-Adaimi, Jad; Goscinski, Nora C; Grove, Ryan A; Gutierrez, Nestor; Harnoto, Raechel S; Hedeen, Heather; Hong, Emily L; Hopkins, Barbara L; Huerta, Vilma F; Khoshabian, Colin; LaForge, Kristin M; Lee, Cassidy T; Lewis, Benjamin M; Lydon, Anniken M; Maniaci, Brian J; Mitchell, Ryan D; Morlock, Elaine V; Morris, William M; Naik, Priyanka; Olson, Nicole C; Osterloh, Jeannette M; Perez, Marcos A; Presley, Jonathan D; Randazzo, Matt J; Regan, Melanie K; Rossi, Franca G; Smith, Melanie A; Soliterman, Eugenia A; Sparks, Ciani J; Tran, Danny L; Wan, Tiffany; Welker, Anne A; Wong, Jeremy N; Sreenivasan, Aparna; Youngblom, Jim; Adams, Andrew; Alldredge, Justin; Bryant, Ashley; Carranza, David; Cifelli, Alyssa; Coulson, Kevin; Debow, Calise; Delacruz, Noelle; Emerson, Charlene; Farrar, Cassandra; Foret, Don; Garibay, Edgar; Gooch, John; Heslop, Michelle; Kaur, Sukhjit; Khan, Ambreen; Kim, Van; Lamb, Travis; Lindbeck, Peter; Lucas, Gabi; Macias, Elizabeth; Martiniuc, Daniela; Mayorga, Lissett; Medina, Joseph; Membreno, Nelson; Messiah, Shady; Neufeld, Lacey; Nguyen, San Francisco; Nichols, Zachary; Odisho, George; Peterson, Daymon; Rodela, Laura; Rodriguez, Priscilla; Rodriguez, Vanessa; Ruiz, Jorge; Sherrill, Will; Silva, Valeria; Sparks, Jeri; Statton, Geeta; Townsend, Ashley; Valdez, Isabel; Waters, Mary; Westphal, Kyle; Winkler, Stacey; Zumkehr, Joannee; DeJong, Randall J; Hoogewerf, Arlene J; Ackerman, Cheri M; Armistead, Isaac O; Baatenburg, Lara; Borr, Matthew J; Brouwer, Lindsay K; Burkhart, Brandon J; Bushhouse, Kelsey T; Cesko, Lejla; Choi, Tiffany YY; Cohen, Heather; Damsteegt, Amanda M; Darusz, Jess M; Dauphin, Cory M; Davis, Yelena P; Diekema, Emily J; Drewry, Melissa; Eisen, Michelle EM; Faber, Hayley M; Faber, Katherine J; Feenstra, Elizabeth; Felzer-Kim, Isabella T; Hammond, Brandy L; Hendriksma, Jesse; Herrold, Milton R; Hilbrands, Julia A; Howell, Emily J; Jelgerhuis, Sarah A; Jelsema, Timothy R; Johnson, Benjamin K; Jones, Kelly K; Kim, Anna; Kooienga, Ross D; Menyes, Erika E; Nollet, Eric A; Plescher, Brittany E; Rios, Lindsay; Rose, Jenny L; Schepers, Allison J; Scott, Geoff; Smith, Joshua R; Sterling, Allison M; Tenney, Jenna C; Uitvlugt, Chris; VanDyken, Rachel E; VanderVennen, Marielle; Vue, Samantha; Kokan, Nighat P; Agbley, Kwabea; Boham, Sampson K; Broomfield, Daniel; Chapman, Kayla; Dobbe, Ali; Dobbe, Ian; Harrington, William; Ibrahem, Marwan; Kennedy, Andre; Koplinsky, Chad A; Kubricky, Cassandra; Ladzekpo, Danielle; Pattison, Claire; Ramirez, Roman E; Wande, Lucia; Woehlke, Sarah; Wawersik, Matthew; Kiernan, Elizabeth; Thompson, Jeffrey S; Banker, Roxanne; Bartling, Justina R; Bhatiya, Chinmoy I; Boudoures, Anna L; Christiansen, Lena; Fosselman, Daniel S; French, Kristin M; Gill, Ishwar S; Havill, Jessen T; Johnson, Jaelyn L; Keny, Lauren J; Kerber, John M; Klett, Bethany M; Kufel, Christina N; May, Francis J; Mecoli, Jonathan P; Merry, Callie R; Meyer, Lauren R; Miller, Emily G; Mullen, Gregory J; Palozola, Katherine C; Pfeil, Jacob J; Thomas, Jessica G; Verbofsky, Evan M; Spana, Eric P; Agarwalla, Anant; Chapman, Julia; Chlebina, Ben; Chong, Insun; Falk, IN; Fitzgibbons, John D; Friedman, Harrison; Ighile, Osagie; Kim, Andrew J; Knouse, Kristin A; Kung, Faith; Mammo, Danny; Ng, Chun Leung; Nikam, Vinayak S; Norton, Diana; Pham, Philip; Polk, Jessica W; Prasad, Shreya; Rankin, Helen; Ratliff, Camille D; Scala, Victoria; Schwartz, Nicholas U; Shuen, Jessica A; Xu, Amy; Xu, Thomas Q; Zhang, Yi; Rosenwald, Anne G; Burg, Martin G; Adams, Stephanie J; Baker, Morgan; Botsford, Bobbi; Brinkley, Briana; Brown, Carter; Emiah, Shadie; Enoch, Erica; Gier, Chad; Greenwell, Alyson; Hoogenboom, Lindsay; Matthews, Jordan E; McDonald, Mitchell; Mercer, Amanda; Monsma, Nicholaus; Ostby, Kristine; Ramic, Alen; Shallman, Devon; Simon, Matthew; Spencer, Eric; Tomkins, Trisha; Wendland, Pete; Wylie, Anna; Wolyniak, Michael J; Robertson, Gregory M; Smith, Samuel I; DiAngelo, Justin R; Sassu, Eric D; Bhalla, Satish C; Sharif, Karim A; Choeying, Tenzin; Macias, Jason S; Sanusi, Fareed; Torchon, Karvyn; Bednarski, April E; Alvarez, Consuelo J; Davis, Kristen C; Dunham, Carrie A; Grantham, Alaina J; Hare, Amber N; Schottler, Jennifer; Scott, Zackary W; Kuleck, Gary A; Yu, Nicole S; Kaehler, Marian M; Jipp, Jacob; Overvoorde, Paul J; Shoop, Elizabeth; Cyrankowski, Olivia; Hoover, Betsy; Kusner, Matt; Lin, Devry; Martinov, Tijana; Misch, Jonathan; Salzman, Garrett; Schiedermayer, Holly; Snavely, Michael; Zarrasola, Stephanie; Parrish, Susan; Baker, Atlee; Beckett, Alissa; Belella, Carissa; Bryant, Julie; Conrad, Turner; Fearnow, Adam; Gomez, Carolina; Herbstsomer, Robert A; Hirsch, Sarah; Johnson, Christen; Jones, Melissa; Kabaso, Rita; Lemmon, Eric; Vieira, Carolina Marques Dos Santos; McFarland, Darryl; McLaughlin, Christopher; Morgan, Abbie; Musokotwane, Sepo; Neutzling, William; Nietmann, Jana; Paluskievicz, Christina; Penn, Jessica; Peoples, Emily; Pozmanter, Caitlin; Reed, Emily; Rigby, Nichole; Schmidt, Lasse; Shelton, Micah; Shuford, Rebecca; Tirasawasdichai, Tiara; Undem, Blair; Urick, Damian; Vondy, Kayla; Yarrington, Bryan; Eckdahl, Todd T; Poet, Jeffrey L; Allen, Alica B; Anderson, John E; Barnett, Jason M; Baumgardner, Jordan S; Brown, Adam D; Carney, Jordan E; Chavez, Ramiro A; Christgen, Shelbi L; Christie, Jordan S; Clary, Andrea N; Conn, Michel A; Cooper, Kristen M; Crowley, Matt J; Crowley, Samuel T; Doty, Jennifer S; Dow, Brian A; Edwards, Curtis R; Elder, Darcie D; Fanning, John P; Janssen, Bridget M; Lambright, Anthony K; Lane, Curtiss E; Limle, Austin B; Mazur, Tammy; McCracken, Marly R; McDonough, Alexa M; Melton, Amy D; Minnick, Phillip J; Musick, Adam E; Newhart, William H; Noynaert, Joseph W; Ogden, Bradley J; Sandusky, Michael W; Schmuecker, Samantha M; Shipman, Anna L; Smith, Anna L; Thomsen, Kristen M; Unzicker, Matthew R; Vernon, William B; Winn, Wesley W; Woyski, Dustin S; Zhu, Xiao; Du, Chunguang; Ament, Caitlin; Aso, Soham; Bisogno, Laura Simone; Caronna, Jason; Fefelova, Nadezhda; Lopez, Lenin; Malkowitz, Lorraine; Marra, Jonathan; Menillo, Daniella; Obiorah, Ifeanyi; Onsarigo, Eric Nyabeta; Primus, Shekerah; Soos, Mahdi; Tare, Archana; Zidan, Ameer; Jones, Christopher J; Aronhalt, Todd; Bellush, James M; Burke, Christa; DeFazio, Steve; Does, Benjamin R; Johnson, Todd D; Keysock, Nicholas; Knudsen, Nelson H; Messler, James; Myirski, Kevin; Rekai, Jade Lea; Rempe, Ryan Michael; Salgado, Michael S; Stagaard, Erica; Starcher, Justin R; Waggoner, Andrew W; Yemelyanova, Anastasia K; Hark, Amy T; Bertolet, Anne; Kuschner, Cyrus E; Parry, Kesley; Quach, Michael; Shantzer, Lindsey; Shaw, Mary E; Smith, Mary A; Glenn, Omolara; Mason, Portia; Williams, Charlotte; Key, S Catherine Silver; Henry, Tyneshia CP; Johnson, Ashlee G; White, Jackie X; Haberman, Adam; Asinof, Sam; Drumm, Kelly; Freeburg, Trip; Safa, Nadia; Schultz, Darrin; Shevin, Yakov; Svoronos, Petros; Vuong, Tam; Wellinghoff, Jules; Hoopes, Laura LM; Chau, Kim M; Ward, Alyssa; Regisford, E Gloria C; Augustine, LaJerald; Davis-Reyes, Brionna; Echendu, Vivienne; Hales, Jasmine; Ibarra, Sharon; Johnson, Lauriaun; Ovu, Steven; Braverman, John M; Bahr, Thomas J; Caesar, Nicole M; Campana, Christopher; Cassidy, Daniel W; Cognetti, Peter A; English, Johnathan D; Fadus, Matthew C; Fick, Cameron N; Freda, Philip J; Hennessy, Bryan M; Hockenberger, Kelsey; Jones, Jennifer K; King, Jessica E; Knob, Christopher R; Kraftmann, Karen J; Li, Linghui; Lupey, Lena N; Minniti, Carl J; Minton, Thomas F; Moran, Joseph V; Mudumbi, Krishna; Nordman, Elizabeth C; Puetz, William J; Robinson, Lauren M; Rose, Thomas J; Sweeney, Edward P; Timko, Ashley S; Paetkau, Don W; Eisler, Heather L; Aldrup, Megan E; Bodenberg, Jessica M; Cole, Mara G; Deranek, Kelly M; DeShetler, Megan; Dowd, Rose M; Eckardt, Alexandra K; Ehret, Sharon C; Fese, Jessica; Garrett, Amanda D; Kammrath, Anna; Kappes, Michelle L; Light, Morgan R; Meier, Anne C; O'Rouke, Allison; Perella, Mallory; Ramsey, Kimberley; Ramthun, Jennifer R; Reilly, Mary T; Robinett, Deirdre; Rossi, Nadine L; Schueler, Mary Grace; Shoemaker, Emma; Starkey, Kristin M; Vetor, Ashley; Vrable, Abby; Chandrasekaran, Vidya; Beck, Christopher; Hatfield, Kristen R; Herrick, Douglas A; Khoury, Christopher B; Lea, Charlotte; Louie, Christopher A; Lowell, Shannon M; Reynolds, Thomas J; Schibler, Jeanine; Scoma, Alexandra H; Smith-Gee, Maxwell T; Tuberty, Sarah; Smith, Christopher D; Lopilato, Jane E; Hauke, Jeanette; Roecklein-Canfield, Jennifer A; Corrielus, Maureen; Gilman, Hannah; Intriago, Stephanie; Maffa, Amanda; Rauf, Sabya A; Thistle, Katrina; Trieu, Melissa; Winters, Jenifer; Yang, Bib; Hauser, Charles R; Abusheikh, Tariq; Ashrawi, Yara; Benitez, Pedro; Boudreaux, Lauren R; Bourland, Megan; Chavez, Miranda; Cruz, Samantha; Elliott, GiNell; Farek, Jesse R; Flohr, Sarah; Flores, Amanda H; Friedrichs, Chelsey; Fusco, Zach; Goodwin, Zane; Helmreich, Eric; Kiley, John; Knepper, John Mark; Langner, Christine; Martinez, Megan; Mendoza, Carlos; Naik, Monal; Ochoa, Andrea; Ragland, Nicolas; Raimey, England; Rathore, Sunil; Reza, Evangelina; Sadovsky, Griffin; Seydoux, Marie-Isabelle B; Smith, Jonathan E; Unruh, Anna K; Velasquez, Vicente; Wolski, Matthew W; Gosser, Yuying; Govind, Shubha; Clarke-Medley, Nicole; Guadron, Leslie; Lau, Dawn; Lu, Alvin; Mazzeo, Cheryl; Meghdari, Mariam; Ng, Simon; Pamnani, Brad; Plante, Olivia; Shum, Yuki Kwan Wa; Song, Roy; Johnson, Diana E; Abdelnabi, Mai; Archambault, Alexi; Chamma, Norma; Gaur, Shailly; Hammett, Deborah; Kandahari, Adrese; Khayrullina, Guzal; Kumar, Sonali; Lawrence, Samantha; Madden, Nigel; Mandelbaum, Max; Milnthorp, Heather; Mohini, Shiv; Patel, Roshni; Peacock, Sarah J; Perling, Emily; Quintana, Amber; Rahimi, Michael; Ramirez, Kristen; Singhal, Rishi; Weeks, Corinne; Wong, Tiffany; Gillis, Aubree T; Moore, Zachary D; Savell, Christopher D; Watson, Reece; Mel, Stephanie F; Anilkumar, Arjun A; Bilinski, Paul; Castillo, Rostislav; Closser, Michael; Cruz, Nathalia M; Dai, Tiffany; Garbagnati, Giancarlo F; Horton, Lanor S; Kim, Dongyeon; Lau, Joyce H; Liu, James Z; Mach, Sandy D; Phan, Thu A; Ren, Yi; Stapleton, Kenneth E; Strelitz, Jean M; Sunjed, Ray; Stamm, Joyce; Anderson, Morgan C; Bonifield, Bethany Grace; Coomes, Daniel; Dillman, Adam; Durchholz, Elaine J; Fafara-Thompson, Antoinette E; Gross, Meleah J; Gygi, Amber M; Jackson, Lesley E; Johnson, Amy; Kocsisova, Zuzana; Manghelli, Joshua L; McNeil, Kylie; Murillo, Michael; Naylor, Kierstin L; Neely, Jessica; Ogawa, Emmy E; Rich, Ashley; Rogers, Anna; Spencer, J Devin; Stemler, Kristina M; Throm, Allison A; Van Camp, Matt; Weihbrecht, Katie; Wiles, T Aaron; Williams, Mallory A; Williams, Matthew; Zoll, Kyle; Bailey, Cheryl; Zhou, Leming; Balthaser, Darla M; Bashiri, Azita; Bower, Mindy E; Florian, Kayla A; Ghavam, Nazanin; Greiner-Sosanko, Elizabeth S; Karim, Helmet; Mullen, Victor W; Pelchen, Carly E; Yenerall, Paul M; Zhang, Jiayu; Rubin, Michael R; Arias-Mejias, Suzette M; Bermudez-Capo, Armando G; Bernal-Vega, Gabriela V; Colon-Vazquez, Mariela; Flores-Vazquez, Arelys; Gines-Rosario, Mariela; Llavona-Cartagena, Ivan G; Martinez-Rodriguez, Javier O; Ortiz-Fuentes, Lionel; Perez-Colomba, Eliezer O; Perez-Otero, Joseph; Rivera, Elisandra; Rodriguez-Giron, Luke J; Santiago-Sanabria, Arnaldo J; Senquiz-Gonzalez, Andrea M; delValle, Frank R Soto; Vargas-Franco, Dorianmarie; Velázquez-Soto, Karla I; Zambrana-Burgos, Joan D; Martinez-Cruzado, Juan Carlos; Asencio-Zayas, Lillyann; Babilonia-Figueroa, Kevin; Beauchamp-Pérez, Francis D; Belén-Rodríguez, Juliana; Bracero-Quiñones, Luciann; Burgos-Bula, Andrea P; Collado-Méndez, Xavier A; Colón-Cruz, Luis R; Correa-Muller, Ana I; Crooke-Rosado, Jonathan L; Cruz-García, José M; Defendini-Ávila, Marianna; Delgado-Peraza, Francheska M; Feliciano-Cancela, Alex J; Gónzalez-Pérez, Valerie M; Guiblet, Wilfried; Heredia-Negrón, Aldo; Hernández-Muñiz, Jennifer; Irizarry-González, Lourdes N; Laboy-Corales, Ángel L; Llaurador-Caraballo, Gabriela A; Marín-Maldonado, Frances; Marrero-Llerena, Ulises; Martell-Martínez, Héctor A; Martínez-Traverso, Idaliz M; Medina-Ortega, Kiara N; Méndez-Castellanos, Sonya G; Menéndez-Serrano, Krizia C; Morales-Caraballo, Carol I; Ortiz-DeChoudens, Saryleine; Ortiz-Ortiz, Patricia; Pagán-Torres, Hendrick; Pérez-Afanador, Diana; Quintana-Torres, Enid M; Ramírez-Aponte, Edwin G; Riascos-Cuero, Carolina; Rivera-Llovet, Michelle S; Rivera-Pagán, Ingrid T; Rivera-Vicéns, Ramón E; Robles-Juarbe, Fabiola; Rodríguez-Bonilla, Lorraine; Rodríguez-Echevarría, Brian O; Rodríguez-García, Priscila M; Rodríguez-Laboy, Abneris E; Rodríguez-Santiago, Susana; Rojas-Vargas, Michael L; Rubio-Marrero, Eva N; Santiago-Colón, Albeliz; Santiago-Ortiz, Jorge L; Santos-Ramos, Carlos E; Serrano-González, Joseline; Tamayo-Figueroa, Alina M; Tascón-Peñaranda, Edna P; Torres-Castillo, José L; Valentín-Feliciano, Nelson A; Valentín-Feliciano, Yashira M; Vargas-Barreto, Nadyan M; Vélez-Vázquez, Miguel; Vilanova-Vélez, Luis R; Zambrana-Echevarría, Cristina; MacKinnon, Christy; Chung, Hui-Min; Kay, Chris; Pinto, Anthony; Kopp, Olga R; Burkhardt, Joshua; Harward, Chris; Allen, Robert; Bhat, Pavan; Chang, Jimmy Hsiang-Chun; Chen, York; Chesley, Christopher; Cohn, Dara; DuPuis, David; Fasano, Michael; Fazzio, Nicholas; Gavinski, Katherine; Gebreyesus, Heran; Giarla, Thomas; Gostelow, Marcus; Greenstein, Rachel; Gunasinghe, Hashini; Hanson, Casey; Hay, Amanda; He, Tao Jian; Homa, Katie; Howe, Ruth; Howenstein, Jeff; Huang, Henry; Khatri, Aaditya; Kim, Young Lu; Knowles, Olivia; Kong, Sarah; Krock, Rebecca; Kroll, Matt; Kuhn, Julia; Kwong, Matthew; Lee, Brandon; Lee, Ryan; Levine, Kevin; Li, Yedda; Liu, Bo; Liu, Lucy; Liu, Max; Lousararian, Adam; Ma, Jimmy; Mallya, Allyson; Manchee, Charlie; Marcus, Joseph; McDaniel, Stephen; Miller, Michelle L; Molleston, Jerome M; Diez, Cristina Montero; Ng, Patrick; Ngai, Natalie; Nguyen, Hien; Nylander, Andrew; Pollack, Jason; Rastogi, Suchita; Reddy, Himabindu; Regenold, Nathaniel; Sarezky, Jon; Schultz, Michael; Shim, Jien; Skorupa, Tara; Smith, Kenneth; Spencer, Sarah J; Srikanth, Priya; Stancu, Gabriel; Stein, Andrew P; Strother, Marshall; Sudmeier, Lisa; Sun, Mengyang; Sundaram, Varun; Tazudeen, Noor; Tseng, Alan; Tzeng, Albert; Venkat, Rohit; Venkataram, Sandeep; Waldman, Leah; Wang, Tracy; Yang, Hao; Yu, Jack Y; Zheng, Yin; Preuss, Mary L; Garcia, Angelica; Juergens, Matt; Morris, Robert W; Nagengast, Alexis A; Azarewicz, Julie; Carr, Thomas J; Chichearo, Nicole; Colgan, Mike; Donegan, Megan; Gardner, Bob; Kolba, Nik; Krumm, Janice L; Lytle, Stacey; MacMillian, Laurell; Miller, Mary; Montgomery, Andrew; Moretti, Alysha; Offenbacker, Brittney; Polen, Mike; Toth, John; Woytanowski, John; Kadlec, Lisa; Crawford, Justin; Spratt, Mary L; Adams, Ashley L; Barnard, Brianna K; Cheramie, Martin N; Eime, Anne M; Golden, Kathryn L; Hawkins, Allyson P; Hill, Jessica E; Kampmeier, Jessica A; Kern, Cody D; Magnuson, Emily E; Miller, Ashley R; Morrow, Cody M; Peairs, Julia C; Pickett, Gentry L; Popelka, Sarah A; Scott, Alexis J; Teepe, Emily J; TerMeer, Katie A; Watchinski, Carmen A; Watson, Lucas A; Weber, Rachel E; Woodard, Kate A; Barnard, Daron C; Appiah, Isaac; Giddens, Michelle M; McNeil, Gerard P; Adebayo, Adeola; Bagaeva, Kate; Chinwong, Justina; Dol, Chrystel; George, Eunice; Haltaufderhyde, Kirk; Haye, Joanna; Kaur, Manpreet; Semon, Max; Serjanov, Dmitri; Toorie, Anika; Wilson, Christopher; Riddle, Nicole C; Buhler, Jeremy; Mardis, Elaine R; Elgin, Sarah CRThe Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D. erecta, D. mojavensis, and D. grimshawi F elements and euchromatic domains from the Muller D element. We find that F elements have greater transposon density (25-50%) than euchromatic reference regions (3-11%). Among the F elements, D. grimshawi has the lowest transposon density (particularly DINE-1: 2% vs. 11-27%). F element genes have larger coding spans, more coding exons, larger introns, and lower codon bias. Comparison of the Effective Number of Codons with the Codon Adaptation Index shows that, in contrast to the other species, codon bias in D. grimshawi F element genes can be attributed primarily to selection instead of mutational biases, suggesting that density and types of transposons affect the degree of local heterochromatin formation. F element genes have lower estimated DNA melting temperatures than D element genes, potentially facilitating transcription through heterochromatin. Most F element genes (~90%) have remained on that element, but the F element has smaller syntenic blocks than genome averages (3.4-3.6 vs. 8.4-8.8 genes per block), indicating greater rates of inversion despite lower rates of recombination. Overall, the F element has maintained characteristics that are distinct from other autosomes in the Drosophila lineage, illuminating the constraints imposed by a heterochromatic milieu.Item Open Access Drosophila mutants suggest a strong drive toward complexity in evolution(Evolution and Development, 2012) Fleming, L; McShea, DWThe view that complexity increases in evolution is uncontroversial, yet little is known about the possible causes of such a trend. One hypothesis, the Zero Force Evolutionary Law (ZFEL), predicts a strong drive toward complexity, although such a tendency can be overwhelmed by selection and constraints. In the absence of strong opposition, heritable variation accumulates and complexity increases. In order to investigate this claim, we evaluate the gross morphological complexity of laboratory mutants in Drosophila melanogaster, which represent organisms that arise in a context where selective forces are greatly reduced. Complexity was measured with respect to part types, shape, and color over two independent focal levels. Compared to the wild type, we find that D. melanogaster mutants are significantly more complex. When the parts of mutants are categorized by degree of constraint, we find that weakly constrained parts are significantly more complex than more constrained parts. These results support the ZFEL hypothesis. They also represent a first step in establishing the domain of application of the ZFEL and show one way in which a larger empirical investigation of the principle might proceed.Item Open Access Galactokinase is a Novel Modifier of Calcineurin-Induced Cardiomyopathy in Drosophila(2014) Lee, Teresa EnaCalcineurin is both necessary and sufficient to induce cardiac hypertrophy, an independent risk factor for arrhythmia, dilated cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death. However, current knowledge of the downstream effectors of calcineurin is limited. My study utilizes Drosophila melanogaster to 1) establish a reliable model for discovering novel modifiers of calcineurin-induced cardiomyopathy; and 2) discover and characterize novel modifiers of calcineurin-induced cardiomyopathy.
In this study, I generated sensitized Drosophila lines expressing constitutively active calcineurin (CanAact) that was either fused to yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) or a Flag epitope (Flag-tagged) specifically in the heart using the cardiac-specific tinC driver (tinC-CanAact). These sensitized lines displayed significant cardiac enlargement as assayed via optical coherence tomography (OCT), histology, and confocal microscopy. The feasibility of this method was established by testing Drosophila expressing deficiency of a known calcineurin modifier, Mef2.
Employing a targeted deficiency screen informed by calcineurin modifier screens in the eye and mesoderm, Galactokinase (Galk) was discovered as a novel modifier of calcineurin-induced cardiomyopathy in the fly through 1) genetic deficiencies, transposable elements, and RNAi disrupting Galk expression rescued tinC-CanAact-induced cardiomyopathy; and 2) transposable element in Galk rescued tinC-CanAact-induced decreased life span. Further characterization identified that the genetic disruption of Galk rescued CanAact-induced phenotypes driven in the posterior wing, but not ectodermaly, mesodermaly, or ubiquitously driven phenotypes. In a separate region, genetic disruption of the galactoside-binding lectin, galectin, was also found to rescue tinC-CanAact-induced cardiac enlargement.
Together, these results characterize tinC-CanAact-induced cardiac enlargement in the fly, establish that the tinC-CanAact sensitized line is a reliable model for discovering novel calcineurin regulators and suggest that galactokinase and galectin-regulated glycosylation is important for calcineurin-induced cardiomyopathy. These results have the potential to provide insight into new treatments for cardiac hypertrophy.
Item Open Access speck, First Identified in Drosophila melanogaster in 1910, Is Encoded by the Arylalkalamine N-Acetyltransferase (AANAT1) Gene.(G3 (Bethesda, Md.), 2020-09-02) Spana, Eric P; Abrams, Amanda B; Ellis, Katharine T; Klein, Jason C; Ruderman, Brandon T; Shi, Alvin H; Zhu, Daniel; Stewart, Andrea; May, SusanThe pigmentation mutation speck is a commonly used recombination marker characterized by a darkly pigmented region at the wing hinge. Identified in 1910 by Thomas Hunt Morgan, speck was characterized by Sturtevant as the most "workable" mutant in the rightmost region of the second chromosome and eventually localized to 2-107.0 and 60C1-2. Though the first speck mutation was isolated over 110 years ago, speck is still not associated with any gene. Here, as part of an undergraduate-led research effort, we show that speck is encoded by the Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase 1 (AANAT1) gene. Both alleles from the Morgan lab contain a retrotransposon in exon 1 of the RB transcript of the AANAT1 gene. We have also identified a new insertion allele and generated multiple deletion alleles in AANAT1 that all give a strong speck phenotype. In addition, expression of AANAT1 RNAi constructs either ubiquitously or in the dorsal portion of the developing wing generates a similar speck phenotype. We find that speck alleles have additional phenotypes, including ectopic pigmentation in the posterior pupal case, leg joints, cuticular sutures and overall body color. We propose that the acetylated dopamine generated by AANAT1 decreases the dopamine pool available for melanin production. When AANAT1 function is decreased, the excess dopamine enters the melanin pathway to generate the speck phenotype.Item Open Access Long-duration animal tracking in difficult lighting conditions.(Sci Rep, 2015-07-01) Stern, Ulrich; Zhu, Edward Y; He, Ruo; Yang, Chung-HuiHigh-throughput analysis of animal behavior requires software to analyze videos. Such software typically depends on the experiments' being performed in good lighting conditions, but this ideal is difficult or impossible to achieve for certain classes of experiments. Here, we describe techniques that allow long-duration positional tracking in difficult lighting conditions with strong shadows or recurring "on"/"off" changes in lighting. The latter condition will likely become increasingly common, e.g., for Drosophila due to the advent of red-shifted channel rhodopsins. The techniques enabled tracking with good accuracy in three types of experiments with difficult lighting conditions in our lab. Our technique handling shadows relies on single-animal tracking and on shadows' and flies' being accurately distinguishable by distance to the center of the arena (or a similar geometric rule); the other techniques should be broadly applicable. We implemented the techniques as extensions of the widely-used tracking software Ctrax; however, they are relatively simple, not specific to Drosophila, and could be added to other trackers as well.Item Open Access Mapping the complexity of transcription control in higher eukaryotes.(Genome Biol, 2010) Tomancak, Pavel; Ohler, UweRecent genomic analyses suggest the importance of combinatorial regulation by broadly expressed transcription factors rather than expression domains characterized by highly specific factors.Item Open Access Mitochondrial fusion is regulated by Reaper to modulate Drosophila programmed cell death.(Cell Death Differ, 2011-10) Thomenius, M; Freel, CD; Horn, S; Krieser, R; Abdelwahid, E; Cannon, R; Balasundaram, S; White, K; Kornbluth, SIn most multicellular organisms, the decision to undergo programmed cell death in response to cellular damage or developmental cues is typically transmitted through mitochondria. It has been suggested that an exception is the apoptotic pathway of Drosophila melanogaster, in which the role of mitochondria remains unclear. Although IAP antagonists in Drosophila such as Reaper, Hid and Grim may induce cell death without mitochondrial membrane permeabilization, it is surprising that all three localize to mitochondria. Moreover, induction of Reaper and Hid appears to result in mitochondrial fragmentation during Drosophila cell death. Most importantly, disruption of mitochondrial fission can inhibit Reaper and Hid-induced cell death, suggesting that alterations in mitochondrial dynamics can modulate cell death in fly cells. We report here that Drosophila Reaper can induce mitochondrial fragmentation by binding to and inhibiting the pro-fusion protein MFN2 and its Drosophila counterpart dMFN/Marf. Our in vitro and in vivo analyses reveal that dMFN overexpression can inhibit cell death induced by Reaper or γ-irradiation. In addition, knockdown of dMFN causes a striking loss of adult wing tissue and significant apoptosis in the developing wing discs. Our findings are consistent with a growing body of work describing a role for mitochondrial fission and fusion machinery in the decision of cells to die.Item Open Access Modeling the evolution of regulatory elements by simultaneous detection and alignment with phylogenetic pair HMMs.(PLoS Comput Biol, 2010-12-16) Majoros, William H; Ohler, UweThe computational detection of regulatory elements in DNA is a difficult but important problem impacting our progress in understanding the complex nature of eukaryotic gene regulation. Attempts to utilize cross-species conservation for this task have been hampered both by evolutionary changes of functional sites and poor performance of general-purpose alignment programs when applied to non-coding sequence. We describe a new and flexible framework for modeling binding site evolution in multiple related genomes, based on phylogenetic pair hidden Markov models which explicitly model the gain and loss of binding sites along a phylogeny. We demonstrate the value of this framework for both the alignment of regulatory regions and the inference of precise binding-site locations within those regions. As the underlying formalism is a stochastic, generative model, it can also be used to simulate the evolution of regulatory elements. Our implementation is scalable in terms of numbers of species and sequence lengths and can produce alignments and binding-site predictions with accuracy rivaling or exceeding current systems that specialize in only alignment or only binding-site prediction. We demonstrate the validity and power of various model components on extensive simulations of realistic sequence data and apply a specific model to study Drosophila enhancers in as many as ten related genomes and in the presence of gain and loss of binding sites. Different models and modeling assumptions can be easily specified, thus providing an invaluable tool for the exploration of biological hypotheses that can drive improvements in our understanding of the mechanisms and evolution of gene regulation.Item Open Access Mutation accumulation may be a minor force in shaping life history traits.(PLoS One, 2012) Dańko, Maciej Jan; Kozłowski, Jan; Vaupel, James Walton; Baudisch, AnnetteIs senescence the adaptive result of tradeoffs between younger and older ages or the nonadaptive burden of deleterious mutations that act at older ages? To shed new light on this unresolved question we combine adaptive and nonadaptive processes in a single model. Our model uses Penna's bit-strings to capture different age-specific mutational patterns. Each pattern represents a genotype and for each genotype we find the life history strategy that maximizes fitness. Genotypes compete with each other and are subject to selection and to new mutations over generations until equilibrium in gene-frequencies is reached. The mutation-selection equilibrium provides information about mutational load and the differential effects of mutations on a life history trait--the optimal age at maturity. We find that mutations accumulate only at ages with negligible impact on fitness and that mutation accumulation has very little effect on the optimal age at maturity. These results suggest that life histories are largely determined by adaptive processes. The non-adaptive process of mutation accumulation seems to be unimportant at evolutionarily relevant ages.Item Open Access Nociceptor-Enriched Genes Required for Normal Thermal Nociception.(Cell reports, 2016-07) Honjo, Ken; Mauthner, Stephanie E; Wang, Yu; Skene, JH Pate; Tracey, W DanielHere, we describe a targeted reverse genetic screen for thermal nociception genes in Drosophila larvae. Using laser capture microdissection and microarray analyses of nociceptive and non-nociceptive neurons, we identified 275 nociceptor-enriched genes. We then tested the function of the enriched genes with nociceptor-specific RNAi and thermal nociception assays. Tissue-specific RNAi targeted against 14 genes caused insensitive thermal nociception while targeting of 22 genes caused hypersensitive thermal nociception. Previously uncategorized genes were named for heat resistance (i.e., boilerman, fire dancer, oven mitt, trivet, thawb, and bunker gear) or heat sensitivity (firelighter, black match, eucalyptus, primacord, jet fuel, detonator, gasoline, smoke alarm, and jetboil). Insensitive nociception phenotypes were often associated with severely reduced branching of nociceptor neurites and hyperbranched dendrites were seen in two of the hypersensitive cases. Many genes that we identified are conserved in mammals.