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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Understanding The Relationship Between B Chromosomes And Nondisjunction In Drosophila Melanogaster, Ayushi Patel
Understanding The Relationship Between B Chromosomes And Nondisjunction In Drosophila Melanogaster, Ayushi Patel
Honors Scholar Theses
B chromosomes are supernumerary, heterochromatic genetic elements that are found in hundreds of different plant and animal species. Recently, B chromosomes were discovered in a stock of Drosophila melanogaster and are carried at a high copy number of 10-12 B chromosomes per cell. B chromosomes are not known to carry any active genes, but when placed in a wild-type genetic background, they cause a significant increase in the frequency of chromosome 4 missegregation during meiosis. This project aimed to understand the relationship between a female’s B chromosome copy number and how often she passes on too many (or too few) …
Headcase Regulates Growth In Response To Nutritional Status Downstream Of Insulin Signaling, Thomas George
Headcase Regulates Growth In Response To Nutritional Status Downstream Of Insulin Signaling, Thomas George
Honors Scholar Theses
Cancer cells are notorious for growing in an unrestricted manner without regard for environmental cues. Recently, Li et al. (2019) discovered headcase (hdc) functions by binding to the mTORC1 complex in the mTOR signaling pathway and preventing further signaling. Interestingly, under nutrient restricted (NR) conditions, cells with mutated hdc proteins proliferated more than cells with normal functioning hdc. It is well known that insulin signaling is downregulated under NR conditions, so a potential signaling pathway with insulin, PI3K, PDK1, Akt, PTEN, and hdc was created as a way to explain the link between hdc function and nutritional status. A Drosophila …
Synthetic Lethality Induced By A Strong Drosophila Enhancer Of Expanded Polyglutamine Tract, Ping Zhang, Qiming Wang, Hannah Hughes, Gino Intrieri
Synthetic Lethality Induced By A Strong Drosophila Enhancer Of Expanded Polyglutamine Tract, Ping Zhang, Qiming Wang, Hannah Hughes, Gino Intrieri
Open Access Author Fund Awardees' Articles
Proteins containing an expanded polyglutamine tract are neurotoxins. The expanded polyglutamine proteins influence a variety of cellular functions. In Drosophila the GMR-Gal4/UAS expression system has been widely used in an eye-based model to study human neurodegenerative diseases. This system has facilitated the isolation and characterization of abundant Drosophilagenes that interact with the expanded polyglutamine proteins. We used the GMR-Gal4/UAS system to express three proteins containing an expanded polyglutamine tract, or an expanded polyglutamine tract alone. Doubling the dose of these proteins resulted in pupal lethality, indicating that these toxic proteins induced a sensitized condition that is prone to synthetic lethality. …
Increased Mitochondrial Biogenesis Preserves Intestinal Stem Cell Homeostasis And Contributes To Longevity In Indy Mutant Flies, Ryan P. Rogers, Blanka Rogina
Increased Mitochondrial Biogenesis Preserves Intestinal Stem Cell Homeostasis And Contributes To Longevity In Indy Mutant Flies, Ryan P. Rogers, Blanka Rogina
UCHC Articles - Research
The Drosophila Indy (I'm Not Dead Yet) gene encodes a plasma membrane transporter of Krebs cycle intermediates, with robust expression in tissues associated with metabolism. Reduced INDY alters metabolism and extends longevity in a manner similar to caloric restriction (CR); however, little is known about the tissue specific physiological effects of INDY reduction. Here we focused on the effects of INDY reduction in the Drosophila midgut due to the importance of intestinal tissue homeostasis in healthy aging and longevity. The expression of Indy mRNA in the midgut changes in response to aging and nutrition. Genetic reduction of Indy expression increases …