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Sieriebriennikov B, Porter ML, Mlejnek J, Short K, Lebhardt F, Holguera I, Desplan C, Perry MW. Whole genome sequence of a long-legged fly Condylostylus longicornis from Hawai'i. Front Genet 2023; 14:1325213. [PMID: 38146342 PMCID: PMC10749331 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1325213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Bogdan Sieriebriennikov
- New York University, New York, NY, United States
- NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | | | - Jakub Mlejnek
- New York University, New York, NY, United States
- NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Keith Short
- Independent Researcher, Loves Park, IL, United States
| | | | | | | | - Michael W. Perry
- University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
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Autofluorescent Biomolecules in Diptera: From Structure to Metabolism and Behavior. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27144458. [PMID: 35889334 PMCID: PMC9318335 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27144458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Light-based phenomena in insects have long attracted researchers’ attention. Surface color distribution patterns are commonly used for taxonomical purposes, while optically-active structures from Coleoptera cuticle or Lepidoptera wings have inspired technological applications, such as biosensors and energy accumulation devices. In Diptera, besides optically-based phenomena, biomolecules able to fluoresce can act as markers of bio-metabolic, structural and behavioral features. Resilin or chitinous compounds, with their respective blue or green-to-red autofluorescence (AF), are commonly related to biomechanical and structural properties, helpful to clarify the mechanisms underlying substrate adhesion of ectoparasites’ leg appendages, or the antennal abilities in tuning sound detection. Metarhodopsin, a red fluorescing photoproduct of rhodopsin, allows to investigate visual mechanisms, whereas NAD(P)H and flavins, commonly relatable to energy metabolism, favor the investigation of sperm vitality. Lipofuscins are AF biomarkers of aging, as well as pteridines, which, similarly to kynurenines, are also exploited in metabolic investigations. Beside the knowledge available in Drosophila melanogaster, a widely used model to study also human disorder and disease mechanisms, here we review optically-based studies in other dipteran species, including mosquitoes and fruit flies, discussing future perspectives for targeted studies with various practical applications, including pest and vector control.
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Pichaud F, Casares F. Shaping an optical dome: The size and shape of the insect compound eye. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2021; 130:37-44. [PMID: 34810110 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The insect compound eye is the most abundant eye architecture on earth. It comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, which are exquisitely adapted to specific ecosystems. Here, we explore the organisational principles and pathways, from molecular to tissular, that underpin the building of this organ and highlight why it is an excellent model system to investigate the relationship between genes and tissue form. The compound eye offers wide fields of view, high sensitivity in motion detection and infinite depth of field. It is made of an array of visual units called ommatidia, which are precisely tiled in 3D to shape the retinal tissue as a dome-like structure. The eye starts off as a 2D epithelium, and it acquires its 3D organisation as ommatidia get into shape. Each ommatidium is made of a complement of retinal cells, including light-detecting photoreceptors and lens-secreting cells. The lens cells generate the typical hexagonal facet lens that lies atop the photoreceptors so that the eye surface consists of a quasi-crystalline array of these hexagonal facet-lenses. This array is curved to various degree, depending on the size and shape of the eye, and on the region of the retina. This curvature sets the resolution and visual field of the eye and is determined by i) the number and size of the facet lens - large ommatidial lenses can be used to generate flat, higher resolution areas, while smaller facets allow for stronger curvature of the eye, and ii) precise control of the inter facet-lens angle, which determines the optical axis of the each ommatidium. In this review we discuss how combinatorial variation in eye primordium shape, ommatidial number, facet lens size and inter facet-lens angle underpins the wide variety of insect eye shapes, and we explore what is known about the mechanisms that might control these parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franck Pichaud
- MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology (LMCB), University College London, WC1E 6BT London, United Kingdom.
| | - Fernando Casares
- CABD-Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide, ES-41013 Seville, Spain.
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Bonny AR, Fonseca JP, Park JE, El-Samad H. Orthogonal control of mean and variability of endogenous genes in a human cell line. Nat Commun 2021; 12:292. [PMID: 33436569 PMCID: PMC7804932 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20467-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Stochastic fluctuations at the transcriptional level contribute to isogenic cell-to-cell heterogeneity in mammalian cell populations. However, we still have no clear understanding of the repercussions of this heterogeneity, given the lack of tools to independently control mean expression and variability of a gene. Here, we engineer a synthetic circuit to modulate mean expression and heterogeneity of transgenes and endogenous human genes. The circuit, a Tunable Noise Rheostat (TuNR), consists of a transcriptional cascade of two inducible transcriptional activators, where the output mean and variance can be modulated by two orthogonal small molecule inputs. In this fashion, different combinations of the inputs can achieve the same mean but with different population variability. With TuNR, we achieve low basal expression, over 1000-fold expression of a transgene product, and up to 7-fold induction of the endogenous gene NGFR. Importantly, for the same mean expression level, we are able to establish varying degrees of heterogeneity in expression within an isogenic population, thereby decoupling gene expression noise from its mean. TuNR is therefore a modular tool that can be used in mammalian cells to enable direct interrogation of the implications of cell-to-cell variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alain R Bonny
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - João Pedro Fonseca
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
- Amyris Bio Products Portugal, Porto, Portugal
| | - Jesslyn E Park
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Hana El-Samad
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
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5
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Zechner C, Nerli E, Norden C. Stochasticity and determinism in cell fate decisions. Development 2020; 147:147/14/dev181495. [PMID: 32669276 DOI: 10.1242/dev.181495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
During development, cells need to make decisions about their fate in order to ensure that the correct numbers and types of cells are established at the correct time and place in the embryo. Such cell fate decisions are often classified as deterministic or stochastic. However, although these terms are clearly defined in a mathematical sense, they are sometimes used ambiguously in biological contexts. Here, we provide some suggestions on how to clarify the definitions and usage of the terms stochastic and deterministic in biological experiments. We discuss the frameworks within which such clear definitions make sense and highlight when certain ambiguity prevails. As an example, we examine how these terms are used in studies of neuronal cell fate decisions and point out areas in which definitions and interpretations have changed and matured over time. We hope that this Review will provide some clarification and inspire discussion on the use of terminology in relation to fate decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Zechner
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstraße 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany .,Max Planck Center for Systems Biology, Pfotenhauerstraße 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Elisa Nerli
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstraße 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Caren Norden
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstraße 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany .,Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal
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Casares F, McGregor AP. The evolution and development of eye size in flies. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2020; 10:e380. [PMID: 32400100 DOI: 10.1002/wdev.380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2019] [Revised: 03/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The compound eyes of flies exhibit striking variation in size, which has contributed to the adaptation of these animals to different habitats and their evolution of specialist behaviors. These differences in size are caused by differences in the number and/or size of ommatidia, which are specified during the development of the retinal field in the eye imaginal disc. While the genes and developmental mechanisms that regulate the formation of compound eyes are understood in great detail in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, we know very little about the genetic changes and mechanistic alterations that lead to natural variation in ommatidia number and/or size, and thus overall eye size, within and between fly species. Understanding the genetic and developmental bases for this natural variation in eye size not only has great potential to help us understand adaptations in fly vision but also determine how eye size and organ size more generally are regulated. Here we explore the genetic and developmental mechanisms that could underlie natural differences in compound eye size within and among fly species based on our knowledge of eye development in D. melanogaster and the few cases where the causative genes and mechanisms have already been identified. We suggest that the fly eye provides an evolutionary and developmental framework to better understand the regulation and diversification of this crucial sensory organ globally at a systems level as well as the gene regulatory networks and mechanisms acting at the tissue, cellular and molecular levels. This article is categorized under: Establishment of Spatial and Temporal Patterns > Regulation of Size, Proportion, and Timing Invertebrate Organogenesis > Flies Comparative Development and Evolution > Regulation of Organ Diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alistair P McGregor
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
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Yan H, Jafari S, Pask G, Zhou X, Reinberg D, Desplan C. Evolution, developmental expression and function of odorant receptors in insects. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:223/Suppl_1/jeb208215. [PMID: 32034042 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.208215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Animals rely on their chemosensory system to discriminate among a very large number of attractive or repulsive chemical cues in the environment, which is essential to respond with proper action. The olfactory sensory systems in insects share significant similarities with those of vertebrates, although they also exhibit dramatic differences, such as the molecular nature of the odorant receptors (ORs): insect ORs function as heteromeric ion channels with a common Orco subunit, unlike the G-protein-coupled olfactory receptors found in vertebrates. Remarkable progress has recently been made in understanding the evolution, development and function of insect odorant receptor neurons (ORNs). These studies have uncovered the diversity of olfactory sensory systems among insect species, including in eusocial insects that rely extensively on olfactory sensing of pheromones for social communication. However, further studies, notably functional analyses, are needed to improve our understanding of the origins of the Orco-OR system, the mechanisms of ORN fate determination, and the extraordinary diversity of behavioral responses to chemical cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Yan
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.,Center for Smell and Taste (UFCST), University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Shadi Jafari
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden.,Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Gregory Pask
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA
| | - Xiaofan Zhou
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, 510642 Guangzhou, China
| | - Danny Reinberg
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Claude Desplan
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
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8
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Meglič A, Ilić M, Pirih P, Škorjanc A, Wehling MF, Kreft M, Belušič G. Horsefly object-directed polarotaxis is mediated by a stochastically distributed ommatidial subtype in the ventral retina. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:21843-21853. [PMID: 31591223 PMCID: PMC6815168 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1910807116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The ventral compound eye of many insects contains polarization-sensitive photoreceptors, but little is known about how they are integrated into visual functions. In female horseflies, polarized reflections from animal fur are a key stimulus for host detection. To understand how polarization vision is mediated by the ventral compound eye, we investigated the band-eyed brown horsefly Tabanus bromius using anatomical, physiological, and behavioral approaches. Serial electron microscopic sectioning of the retina and single-cell recordings were used to determine the spectral and polarization sensitivity (PS) of photoreceptors. We found 2 stochastically distributed subtypes of ommatidia, analogous to pale and yellow of other flies. Importantly, the pale analog contains an orthogonal analyzer receptor pair with high PS, formed by an ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive R7 and a UV- and blue-sensitive R8, while the UV-sensitive R7 and green-sensitive R8 in the yellow analog always have low PS. We tested horsefly polarotaxis in the field, using lures with controlled spectral and polarization composition. Polarized reflections without UV and blue components rendered the lures unattractive, while reflections without the green component increased their attractiveness. This is consistent with polarotaxis being guided by a differential signal from polarization analyzers in the pale analogs, and with an inhibitory role of the yellow analogs. Our results reveal how stochastically distributed sensory units with modality-specific division of labor serve as separate and opposing input channels for visual guidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrej Meglič
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Marko Ilić
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Sokendai - The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, 240-0193 Hayama, Japan
| | - Primož Pirih
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Aleš Škorjanc
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Martin F Wehling
- Nature-inspired Team, Sensor and Imaging Sciences Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, FL 32542
| | - Marko Kreft
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Institute of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Celica Biomedical, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Belušič
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
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