Project description:mRNA sequencing was used to identify genome wide transcriptional changes occuring in fly heads in response to spermidine feeding. This study shed light on the molecular mechanisms through wich spermidine can protect against age-dependent memory impairment.
Project description:mRNA sequencing was used to identify genome wide transcriptional changes occuring in fly heads in response to spermidine feeding. This study shed light on the molecular mechanisms through wich spermidine can protect against age-dependent memory impairment. mRNA profiles from 3 and 10 day old Drosophila melanogaster heads were generated in duplicate by deep sequencing using Illumina GAIIx. mRNA profiles from flies that were fed food with 5mM spermidine were compared to profiles from flies that had no spermidine in thier food.
Project description:Our objective was to identify candidate genes that contribute to the long 31-hour circadian period previously observed in DGRP_892. We performed transcriptional profiling of whole fly heads from two genotypes: DGRP_892, and Canton-S B, a line with a normal 24-hour circadian period. We collected fly heads every two hours over a 24-hour period. We quantified differential expression among genotype, time, and sex.
Project description:Metabolites are active controllers of cellular physiology, but their role in complex behaviors is less clear. Here we report the metabolic changes that occur during the transition between hunger and satiety in Drosophila melanogaster. To analyze these data in the context of fruit fly metabolic networks, we developed Flyscape, an open-access tool. We show that in response to eating, metabolic profiles change in quick, but distinct ways in the heads and bodies. Consumption of a high sugar diet dulls the metabolic and behavioral differences between the fasted and fed state, and reshapes the way nutrients are utilized upon eating. Specifically, we found that high dietary sugar increases TCA cycle activity, alters neurochemicals, and depletes 1-carbon metabolism and brain health metabolites N-acetyl-aspartate and kynurenine. Together, our work identifies the metabolic transitions that occur during hunger and satiation, and provides a platform to study the role of metabolites and diet in complex behavior.
Project description:We have shown previously that older flies are intrinsically more susceptible to Aβ42 toxicity. Building upon these findings, this study aimed to determine the mechanisms by which ageing increases this vulnerability to damage in the brain. A fixed dose of Aβ42 peptide was induced in young (5d) versus older (20d) fly neurons, and then gene and protein expression changes examined in dissected fly brains using microarray analyses. This unbiased approach has revealed genes and pathways that correlate with increased susceptibility of the ageing brain to proteotoxicity.
Project description:Drosophila melanogaster larvae reared on isocaloric diets with different protein/sugar ratios, exhibit different developmental times and the eclosed adults show different metabolite pools of glycogen and triglycerides (Matzkin et al., 2011, PMID: 21525254). To investigate the effect of larval diet on adult neurological processes at the gene expression level we performed high throughout RNA sequencing of fly heads reared in two different protein/sugar ratio diets.
Project description:We used long-oligonucleotide microarrays to investigate whether alternative splicing in Drosophila is regulated in a sex-, stage-, or tissue-specific manner. To examine sex-specific splicing, we compared gene expression profiles of male and female pupae 12 hours after pupariation. To examine stage-specific splicing, we compared expression profiles of mixed-sex, 0-24 hour old embryos and mixed-sex, 12 hour old pupae. To examine tissue-specific splicing, we compared expression profiles of adult male heads and abdomens 24-48 hours after eclosion. To examine tissue-specific splicing, we compared expression profiles of adult male heads and abdomens at 24-48 hours after eclosion. Keywords: tissue-specific expression profiles
Project description:We used RNA sequencing to examine the transcriptomes of male and female heads from experimentally-evolved D. melanogaster populations after 117 generations of mating system manipulation in order to examine the pattern of evolution in sex-biased genes.
