Project description:Fruit flies were maintained either 40% sugar or 5% sugar diets for one week, then on 5% sugar for one further week. Whole flies were sampled at the end of weeks 1 and week 2. Persistent effects of past high sugar diets are identified.
Project description:we performed proteome sequencing in Drosophila at day 7 (young) and day 42 (old) under dietary restriction (DR)and ad libitum (AL) conditions.
Project description:To identify the eye-enriched genes by comparing the mRNA expression profiles from wild type fly heads (CantonS) and eye-less fly heads (sine occulis).
Project description:Comparison of females mated to males null for Sex-Peptide (SP0, Liu, H. and E. Kubli, Sex-peptide is the molecular basis of the sperm effect in Drosophila melanogaster. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2003. 100(17): p. 9929-33) or to control, Sex-Peptide producing, males. Comparisons were made at 3 and 6 hours after mating, in dissected Head-Thorax body parts.
Project description:Comparison of females mated to males null for Sex-Peptide (SP0, Liu, H. and E. Kubli, Sex-peptide is the molecular basis of the sperm effect in Drosophila melanogaster. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2003. 100(17): p. 9929-33) or to control, Sex-Peptide producing, males. Comparisons were made at 3 and 6 hours after mating, in dissected Abdomen parts.<br>
Project description:Royal Jelly (RJ) is a product made by honey bee workers and is required for queen differentiation and accompanying changes in queen body size, development time, lifespan and reproductive output relative to workers. Previous studies have reported similar changes in Drosophila melanogaster in response to RJ. Here, we quantified viability, development time, body size, productivity, lifespan and genome wide transcript abundance of D. melanogaster reared on standard culture medium supplemented with increasing concentrations of RJ. We found that lower concentrations of RJ do induce significant differences in body size in both sexes; higher concentrations reduce size, increase mortality, shorten lifespan and reduce productivity. Increased concentrations of RJ also consistently lengthened development time in both sexes. RJ is associated with changes in expression of 1,581 probe sets assessed using Affymetrix Drosophila 2.0 microarrays, which were enriched for genes associated with metabolism and amino acid degradation. The transcriptional changes are consistent with alterations in cellular processes to cope with excess nutrients provided by RJ, including biosynthesis and detoxification, which might contribute to accelerated senescence and reduced lifespan.
Project description:Oocyte composition can directly influence offspring fitness, particularly in oviparous species such as most insects, where it is the primary form of parental investment. Oocyte production is also energetically costly, dependent on female condition and responsive to external cues. We investigated whether mating influences mature oocyte composition in Drosophila melanogaster using a quantitative proteomic approach. Our analyses robustly identified 4,485 oocyte proteins and revealed that stage-14 oocytes from mated females differed significantly in protein composition relative to oocytes from unmated females. Proteins forming a highly interconnected network enriched for translational machinery and transmembrane proteins were increased in oocytes from mated females, including calcium binding and transport proteins. This mating-induced modulation of oocyte maturation was also significantly associated with proteome changes that are known to be triggered by egg activation. We propose that these compositional changes are likely to have fitness consequences and adaptive implications given the importance of oocyte composition, rather than active gene expression, to the maternal-to-zygotic transition and early embryogenesis.
Project description:In animals, the piRNA pathway preserves the integrity of gametic genomes, guarding them against the activity of mobile genetic elements. This innate immune mechanism relies on distinct genomic loci, termed piRNA clusters, to provide a molecular definition of transposons, enabling their discrimination from genes. piRNA clusters give rise to long, single-stranded precursors which are processed into primary piRNAs through an unknown mechanism. These can engage in an adaptive amplification loop, the ping-pong cycle, to optimize the content of small RNA populations via the generation of secondary piRNAs. Many proteins have been ascribed functions in either primary biogenesis or the ping- pong cycle, though for the most part the molecular functions of proteins implicated in these pathways remain obscure. Here, we link shutdown, a gene previously shown to be required for fertility in Drosophila, to the piRNA pathway. Analysis of knockdown phenotypes in both the germ line and somatic compartments of the ovary demonstrate important roles for shutdown in both primary biogenesis and the ping-pong cycle. shutdown is a member of the FKBP family of immunophilins, with domains implicated in peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase activity and in the binding of HSP90-family chaperones. Though the relevance of these domains to piRNA biogenesis is unknown, evolutionary comparisons raise questions about the integrity of these functions in the shutdown protein. Examination of small RNA levels from nos-GAL4 or tj-GAL4 driven UAS-dsRNA knockdowns of white, shu and piwi in ovaries of Drosophila melanogaster by deep sequencing (using Illumina GAII).
Project description:The Drosophila piRNA pathway provides an RNA-based immune system that defends the germline genome against selfish genetic elements. Two inter-related branches of the piRNA system exist: somatic cells that support oogenesis only employ Piwi, whereas germ cells utilize a more elaborated pathway centered on the three gonad-specific Argonaute proteins Piwi, Aubergine, and Argonaute3. While several key factors of each branch have been identified, our current knowledge is insufficient to explain the complex workings of the piRNA machinery. Here, we report a reverse genetic screen spanning the ovarian transcriptome in an attempt to uncover the full repertoire of genes required for piRNA-mediated transposon silencing in the female germline. Our screen reveals new key factors of piRNA-mediated transposon silencing, including the novel piRNA biogenesis factors, CG2183 (GASZ) and Deadlock. Last, our data uncovers a previously unanticipated set of factors preferentially required for repression of different transposons types. Examination of small RNA levels from nos-GAL4 or tj-GAL4 driven UAS-dsRNA knockdowns of control genes and piRNA pathway components in ovaries of Drosophila melanogaster by deep sequencing (using Illumina HiSeq2000).
Project description:We hypothesized that social interactions, such as those involved in courtship and mating, would lead to assayable changes in gene expression that may have important effects on individual reproductive success and fitness through alterations in physiology or changes in nervous system function. Five-day-old males were collected two hours after mating with or courting a virgin female compared to males that were left alone for the 2 hrs. After collection, RNA was extracted from male head tissue. Five samples for each treatment were hybridized to Affymetrix Drosophila Genome arrays for a total of 15 arrays. Data were analyzed using dChip PM, dChip PM-MM, MAS5.0, R/Bioconductor GC-RMA, and GeneSpring GC-RMA.