Development of a Rainbow Trout () Intestinal Platform for Profiling Amino Acid Digestion and Absorption of a Complete Diet.

The ever-increasing number and variation of raw materials utilized to provide alternative feed formulations continues to allow for a more sustainable and flexible approach. Testing all these options is still the most robust and reliable manner to pick the best raw material candidates, but it requires the use of large numbers of animals and is time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, we are developing an platform that can provide a reliable evaluation of new ingredients.

Stable and dynamic microtubules coordinately determine and maintain Drosophila bristle shape.

Within interphase cells, microtubules (MTs) are organized in a cell-specific manner to support cell shape and function. Here, we report that coordination between stable and dynamic MTs determines and maintains the highly elongated bristle cell shape. By following MT-decorating hooks and by tracking EB1 we identified two MT populations within bristles: a stable MT population polarized with their minus ends distal to the cell body, and a dynamic MT population that exhibits mixed polarity.

Drosophila javelin-like encodes a novel microtubule-associated protein and is required for mRNA localization during oogenesis.

Asymmetrical localization of mRNA transcripts during Drosophila oogenesis determines the anteroposterior and dorsoventral axes of the Drosophila embryo. Correct localization of these mRNAs requires both microtubule (MT) and actin networks. In this study, we have identified a novel gene, CG43162, that regulates mRNA localization during oogenesis and also affects bristle development.

The Drosophila javelin gene encodes a novel actin-associated protein required for actin assembly in the bristle.

The Drosophila melanogaster bristle is a highly polarized cell that builds specialized cytoskeletal structures. Whereas actin is required for increasing bristle length, microtubules are essential for bristle axial growth. To identify new proteins involved in cytoskeleton organization during bristle development, we focused on identifying and characterizing the javelin (jv) locus.

The highly elongated Drosophila mechanosensory bristle--a new model for studying polarized microtubule function.

Microtubules (MTs) are polar polymers that can facilitate asymmetric distribution of cell components, a process important for polarized cell growth. The highly elongated and polarized Drosophila mechnosensory bristle cytoplasm is filled with short MTs that constitute a significant component of the shaft cytoplasm. Inhibition of MT assembly affects biased axial growth in the bristle and highlights the importance of MTs for this process.

Asymmetric microtubule function is an essential requirement for polarized organization of the Drosophila bristle.

While previous studies have shown that microtubules (MTs) are essential for maintaining the highly biased axial growth of the Drosophila bristle, the mechanism for this process has remained vague. We report that the MT minus-end marker, Nod-KHC, accumulates at the bristle tip, suggesting that the MT network in the bristle is organized minus end out. Potential markers for studying the importance of properly polarized MTs to bristle axial growth are Ik2 and Spindle-F (Spn-F), since mutations in spn-F and ik2 affect bristle development.

The Drosophila IKK-related kinase (Ik2) and Spindle-F proteins are part of a complex that regulates cytoskeleton organization during oogenesis.

Background: IkappaB kinases (IKKs) regulate the activity of Rel/NF-kappaB transcription factors by targeting their inhibitory partner proteins, IkappaBs, for degradation. The Drosophila genome encodes two members of the IKK family. Whereas the first is a kinase essential for activation of the NF-kappaB pathway, the latter does not act as IkappaB kinase.