The effects of bacterial endotoxin (LPS) on cardiac function in a medicinal blow fly (Phaenicia sericata) and a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster)

2019 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ogechi Anyagaligbo ◽  
Jate Bernard ◽  
Abigail Greenhalgh ◽  
Robin L. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Cardiac Function ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Bacterial Endotoxin ◽  
Blow Fly ◽  
Phaenicia Sericata

scholarly journals Effect of Temperature on Heart Rate for Phaenicia sericata and Drosophila melanogaster with Altered Expression of the TrpA1 Receptors

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Nicole T. Marguerite ◽  
Jate Bernard ◽  
Douglas A. Harrison ◽  
David Harris ◽  
Robin L. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Cardiac Function ◽  
Body Wall ◽  
Transient Receptor Potential ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Short Exposure ◽  
Altered Expression ◽  
Phaenicia Sericata

The transient receptor potential (TrpA—ankyrin) receptor has been linked to pathological conditions in cardiac function in mammals. To better understand the function of the TrpA1 in regulation of the heart, a Drosophila melanogaster model was used to express TrpA1 in heart and body wall muscles. Heartbeat of in intact larvae as well as hearts in situ, devoid of hormonal and neural input, indicate that strong over-expression of TrpA1 in larvae at 30 or 37 °C stopped the heart from beating, but in a diastolic state. Cardiac function recovered upon cooling after short exposure to high temperature. Parental control larvae (UAS-TrpA1) increased heart rate transiently at 30 and 37 °C but slowed at 37 °C within 3 min for in-situ preparations, while in-vivo larvae maintained a constant heart rate. The in-situ preparations maintained an elevated rate at 30 °C. The heartbeat in the TrpA1-expressing strains could not be revived at 37 °C with serotonin. Thus, TrpA1 activation may have allowed enough Ca2+ influx to activate K(Ca) channels into a form of diastolic stasis. TrpA1 activation in body wall muscle confirmed a depolarization of membrane. In contrast, blowfly Phaenicia sericata larvae increased heartbeat at 30 and 37 °C, demonstrating greater cardiac thermotolerance.

scholarly journals Hox dosage contributes to flight appendage morphology in Drosophila

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Paul ◽  
Guillaume Giraud ◽  
Katrin Domsch ◽  
Marilyne Duffraisse ◽  
Frédéric Marmigère ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Differential Expression ◽  
Hox Genes ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Insect Species ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Hox Proteins ◽  
Spatial Expression ◽  
Flying Insects

AbstractFlying insects have invaded all the aerial space on Earth and this astonishing radiation could not have been possible without a remarkable morphological diversification of their flight appendages. Here, we show that characteristic spatial expression profiles and levels of the Hox genes Antennapedia (Antp) and Ultrabithorax (Ubx) underlie the formation of two different flight organs in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. We further demonstrate that flight appendage morphology is dependent on specific Hox doses. Interestingly, we find that wing morphology from evolutionary distant four-winged insect species is also associated with a differential expression of Antp and Ubx. We propose that variation in the spatial expression profile and dosage of Hox proteins is a major determinant of flight appendage diversification in Drosophila and possibly in other insect species during evolution.

scholarly journals Fat-body brummer lipase determines survival and cardiac function during starvation in Drosophila melanogaster

iScience ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 102288
Author(s):  
Annelie Blumrich ◽  
Georg Vogler ◽  
Sandra Dresen ◽  
Soda Balla Diop ◽  
Carsten Jaeger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Cardiac Function ◽  
Fat Body

scholarly journals Quantitative investigation reveals distinct phases in Drosophila sleep

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaochan Xu ◽  
Wei Yang ◽  
Binghui Tian ◽  
Xiuwen Sui ◽  
Weilai Chi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Infrared Camera ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Genetic Dissection ◽  
Power Law Distribution ◽  
Quantitative Investigation ◽  
Waking Up ◽  
Set Up

AbstractThe fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been used as a model organism for the molecular and genetic dissection of sleeping behaviors. However, most previous studies were based on qualitative or semi-quantitative characterizations. Here we quantified sleep in flies. We set up an assay to continuously track the activity of flies using infrared camera, which monitored the movement of tens of flies simultaneously with high spatial and temporal resolution. We obtained accurate statistics regarding the rest and sleep patterns of single flies. Analysis of our data has revealed a general pattern of rest and sleep: the rest statistics obeyed a power law distribution and the sleep statistics obeyed an exponential distribution. Thus, a resting fly would start to move again with a probability that decreased with the time it has rested, whereas a sleeping fly would wake up with a probability independent of how long it had slept. Resting transits to sleeping at time scales of minutes. Our method allows quantitative investigations of resting and sleeping behaviors and our results provide insights for mechanisms of falling into and waking up from sleep.

scholarly journals The trithorax Group Genemoira Encodes a Brahma-Associated Putative Chromatin-Remodeling Factor in Drosophila melanogaster

1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 1159-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline A. Crosby ◽  
Chaya Miller ◽  
, Tamar Alon ◽  
Kellie L. Watson ◽  
C. Peter Verrijzer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Chromatin Remodeling ◽  
Leucine Zipper ◽  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Protein Product ◽  
Homeotic Genes ◽  
Trithorax Group ◽  
Functional Relationships

ABSTRACT The genes of the trithorax group (trxG) inDrosophila melanogaster are required to maintain the pattern of homeotic gene expression that is established early in embryogenesis by the transient expression of the segmentation genes. The precise role of each of the diverse trxG members and the functional relationships among them are not well understood. Here, we report on the isolation of the trxG gene moira(mor) and its molecular characterization. morencodes a fruit fly homolog of the human and yeast chromatin-remodeling factors BAF170, BAF155, and SWI3. mor is widely expressed throughout development, and its 170-kDa protein product is present in many embryonic tissues. In vitro, MOR can bind to itself and it interacts with Brahma (BRM), an SWI2-SNF2 homolog, with which it is associated in embryonic nuclear extracts. The leucine zipper motif of MOR is likely to participate in self-oligomerization; the equally conserved SANT domain, for which no function is known, may be required for optimal binding to BRM. MOR thus joins BRM and Snf5-related 1 (SNR1), two known Drosophila SWI-SNF subunits that act as positive regulators of the homeotic genes. These observations provide a molecular explanation for the phenotypic and genetic relationships among several of the trxG genes by suggesting that they encode evolutionarily conserved components of a chromatin-remodeling complex.

Locomotion is not influenced by denticle number in larvae of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 368-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J Fitzpatrick ◽  
Evelyn Szewczyk
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Natural Variation ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Fruit Flies ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Locomotory Performance ◽  
Locomotion Speed

Denticles are small projections on the underside of larval fruit flies that are used to grip the substrate while crawling. Previous studies have shown that (i) there is natural variation in denticle number and pattern between Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen, 1830) and several closely related species and (ii) mutations affecting denticle morphology have negative effects on locomotory performance. We hypothesized that there would be a correlation between denticle number and locomotory performance within populations of D. melanogaster. Despite finding considerable variation in denticle number, we found no correlation between denticle number and three measurements of larval locomotion: speed, acceleration, and absolute turning rate.

scholarly journals Drosophila melanogaster Is a Genetically Tractable Model Host for Mycobacterium marinum

2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 3540-3550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc S. Dionne ◽  
Nafisa Ghori ◽  
David S. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Lethal Dose ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Mycobacterial Infection ◽  
Mycobacterium Marinum ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Lethal Infection ◽  
Mouse Macrophages ◽  
Vacuolar Acidification ◽  
Death Kinetics

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium marinum is a pathogenic mycobacterial species that is closely related to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and causes tuberculosis-like disease in fish and frogs. We infected the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster with M. marinum. This bacterium caused a lethal infection in the fly, with a 50% lethal dose (LD50) of 5 CFU. Death was accompanied by widespread tissue damage. M. marinum initially proliferated inside the phagocytes of the fly; later in infection, bacteria were found both inside and outside host cells. Intracellular M. marinum blocked vacuolar acidification and failed to colocalize with dead Escherichia coli, similar to infections of mouse macrophages. M. marinum lacking the mag24 gene were less virulent, as determined both by LD50 and by death kinetics. Finally, in contrast to all other bacteria examined, mycobacteria failed to elicit the production of antimicrobial peptides in Drosophila. We believe that this system should be a useful genetically tractable model for mycobacterial infection.

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