A genome-engineered tool set for Drosophila TGF-β/BMP signaling studies.

Ligands of the TGF-β/BMP superfamily are crucially involved in the regulation of growth, patterning and organogenesis and can act as long-range morphogens. Essential for understanding TGF-β/BMP signaling dynamics and regulation are tools that allow monitoring and manipulating pathway components at physiological expression levels and endogenous spatiotemporal patterns. We used genome engineering to generate a comprehensive library of endogenously epitope- or fluorescent-tagged versions of receptors, co-receptors, transcription factors and key feedback regulators of the Drosophila BMP and Activin signaling pathways.

Dally is not essential for Dpp spreading or internalization but for Dpp stability by antagonizing Tkv-mediated Dpp internalization.

Dpp/BMP acts as a morphogen to provide positional information in the wing disc. Key cell-surface molecules to control Dpp morphogen gradient formation and signaling are heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs). In the wing disc, two HSPGs, the glypicans Division abnormally delayed (Dally) and Dally-like (Dlp) have been suggested to act redundantly to control these processes through direct interaction of their heparan sulfate (HS) chains with Dpp.

AWD regulates timed activation of BMP signaling in intestinal stem cells to maintain tissue homeostasis.

Precise control of stem cell (SC) proliferation ensures tissue homeostasis. In the Drosophila intestine, injury-induced regeneration involves initial activation of intestinal SC (ISC) proliferation and subsequent return to quiescence. These two phases of the regenerative response are controlled by differential availability of the BMP type I receptor Thickveins (Tkv), yet how its expression is dynamically regulated remains unclear.

The Fungal Pathogen Does Not Depend on Surface Ferric Reductases for Iron Acquisition.

Iron acquisition is a crucial virulence determinant for many bacteria and fungi, including the opportunistic fungal pathogens and While the diverse strategies used by for obtaining iron from the host are well-described, much less is known about the acquisition of this micronutrient from host sources by - a distant relative of with closer evolutionary ties to , which nonetheless causes severe clinical symptoms in humans. Here we show that is much more restricted than in using host iron sources, lacking, for example, the ability to grow on transferrin and hemin/hemoglobin. Instead, is able to use ferritin and non-protein-bound iron (FeCl) as iron sources in a pH-dependent manner.

A Novel Hybrid Iron Regulation Network Combines Features from Pathogenic and Nonpathogenic Yeasts.

Unlabelled: Iron is an essential micronutrient for both pathogens and their hosts, which restrict iron availability during infections in an effort to prevent microbial growth. Successful human pathogens like the yeast Candida glabrata have thus developed effective iron acquisition strategies. Their regulation has been investigated well for some pathogenic fungi and in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which employs an evolutionarily derived system.