Project description:Nucleus is a highly structured organelle and contains many functional compartments. While the structural basis for this complex spatial organization of compartments is unknown, a major component of this organization is likely to be the non-chromatin scaffolding called nuclear matrix (NuMat). Experimental evidence over the past decades indicates that most of the nuclear functions are at least transiently associated with the NuMat although the components of NuMat itself are poorly known. Here, we report NuMat proteome analysis from Drosophila melanogaster embryos and discuss its links with nuclear architecture and functions. In the NuMat proteome, we find structural proteins, chaperones related, DNA/RNA binding, chromatin remodeling and transcription factors. This complexity of NuMat proteome is an indicator of its structural and functional significance. Comparison of the 2D profile of NuMat proteome from different developmental stages of Drosophila embryos shows that less than half of the NuMat proteome is constant and rest of the proteins are stage specific dynamic components. This NuMat dynamics suggests a possible functional link between NuMat and the embryonic development. Finally, we also show that a subset of NuMat proteins remain associated with the mitotic chromosomes implicating their role in mitosis and possibly the epigenetic cellular memory. NuMat proteome analysis provides tools and opens up ways to understand nuclear organization and function.
Project description:The notion that genes are the sole units of heredity and that a barrier exists between soma and germline has been a major hurdle in elucidating the heritability of traits that were observed to follow a non-Mendelian inheritance pattern. It was only after the conception of “epigenetics” by C. H. Waddington that the effect of parental environment on subsequent generations via non-DNA sequence-based mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, chromatin modifications, non-coding RNAs and proteins, could be established in various organisms, now referred to as multigenerational epigenetic inheritance. Despite the growing body of evidence, the male gamete-derived epigenetic factors that mediate the transmission of such phenotypes are seldom explored, particularly in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Using the heat stress-induced multigenerational epigenetic inheritance paradigm in a widely used position-effect variegation line of Drosophila, named white-mottled, we have dissected the effect of heat stress on the sperm proteome in the current study. We demonstrate that multiple successive generations of heat stress at the early embryonic stage results in a significant downregulation of proteins associated with translation, chromatin organization, microtubule-based processes, and generation of metabolites and energy in the Drosophila sperms. Based on our findings, we propose chromatin-based epigenetic mechanisms, a well-established mechanism for environmentally induced multigenerational effects, as a plausible way of transmitting heat stress memory via the male germ line in subsequent generations. Moreover, we demonstrate the effect of multiple generations of heat stress on the reproductive fitness of Drosophila, shedding light on the adaptive or maladaptive potential of heat stress-induced multigenerational phenotypes.
Project description:Understanding the genotype-phenotype map and how variation at different levels of biological organization is associated are central topics in modern biology. Fast developments in sequencing technologies and other molecular omic tools enable researchers to obtain detailed information on variation at DNA level and on intermediate endophenotypes, such as RNA, proteins and metabolites. This can facilitate our understanding of the link between genotypes and molecular and functional organismal phenotypes. Here, we use the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics to investigate the ability of the metabolome to predict organismal phenotypes. We performed NMR metabolomics on four replicate pools of male flies from each of 170 different isogenic lines. Our results show that metabolite profiles are variable among the investigated lines and that this variation is highly heritable. Second, we identify genes associated with metabolome variation. Third, using the metabolome gave better prediction accuracies than genomic information for four of five quantitative traits analyzed. Our comprehensive characterization of population-scale diversity of metabolomes and its genetic basis illustrates that metabolites have large potential as predictors of organismal phenotypes. This finding is of great importance, e.g., in human medicine, evolutionary biology and animal and plant breeding.
Project description:Chromatin is organized into a 3D interwoven tapestry of multi-layer architectural features important for controlling gene expression. How distinct layers influence each other and quickly they quickly they respond to cellular environment is unclear. Using Hi-C in Drosophila melanogaster, we measure how 3D chromatin organization responds to cellular hyperosmotic stress. In combination with the hd-pairing method, we demonstrate that chromosome unpairing represents a fast an reversible response to hyperosmotic stress. We identify a novel function of the Z4 protein as an anti-pairer, which we demonstrate is necessary for changes to chromatin organization during hyperosmotic stress. Finally, we demonstrate how changes to pairing impacts the other interwoven layers of 3D chromatin organization.
Project description:Chromatin is organized into a 3D interwoven tapestry of multi-layer architectural features important for controlling gene expression. How distinct layers influence each other and quickly they quickly they respond to cellular environment is unclear. Using Hi-C in Drosophila melanogaster, we measure how 3D chromatin organization responds to cellular hyperosmotic stress. In combination with the hd-pairing method, we demonstrate that chromosome unpairing represents a fast an reversible response to hyperosmotic stress. We identify a novel function of the Z4 protein as an anti-pairer, which we demonstrate is necessary for changes to chromatin organization during hyperosmotic stress. Finally, we demonstrate how changes to pairing impacts the other interwoven layers of 3D chromatin organization.