The chromosome-scale genome assembly for the West Nile vector Culex quinquefasciatus uncovers patterns of genome evolution in mosquitoes.

Background: Understanding genome organization and evolution is important for species involved in transmission of human diseases, such as mosquitoes. Anophelinae and Culicinae subfamilies of mosquitoes show striking differences in genome sizes, sex chromosome arrangements, behavior, and ability to transmit pathogens. However, the genomic basis of these differences is not fully understood.

The misregulation of mitochondria-associated genes caused by GAGA-factor lack promotes autophagic germ cell death in Drosophila testes.

The Drosophila GAGA-factor encoded by the Trithorax-like (Trl) gene is DNA-binding protein with unusually wide range of applications in diverse cell contexts. In Drosophila spermatogenesis, reduced GAGA expression caused by Trl mutations induces mass autophagy leading to germ cell death. In this work, we investigated the contribution of mitochondrial abnormalities to autophagic germ cell death in Trl gene mutants.

Loss of E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Hyd Promotes Extra Mitosis in Germline Cysts and Massive Cell Death During Oogenesis.

The ( gene is the ortholog of mammalian tumor suppressor , which is implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes, and its regulation is impaired in various tumors. It is a member of the highly conserved HECT family of E3 ubiquitin ligases, which directly attach ubiquitin to targeted substrates. In early works, it was shown that Hyd may be a tumor suppressor because it is involved in the control of imaginal-disc cell proliferation and growth.

GAGA Regulates Border Cell Migration in .

Collective cell migration is a complex process that happens during normal development of many multicellular organisms, as well as during oncological transformations. In oogenesis, a small set of follicle cells originally located at the anterior tip of each egg chamber become motile and migrate as a cluster through nurse cells toward the oocyte. These specialized cells are referred to as border cells (BCs) and provide a simple and convenient model system to study collective cell migration.

Estimated resistance of the malaria mosquito Anopheles messeae s.l. to the insecticide malathion.

Resistance to agricultural pesticides is an important and insufficiently studied concern for pest and disease vector research. We determined the malathion resistance of species in the Anopheles maculipennis mosquito group in a habitat near Novosibirsk, Russia. Most of the 851 individuals we measured were members of the Anopheles messeae s.

GAGA protein is required for multiple aspects of Drosophila oogenesis and female fertility.

Investigation of Drosophila oogenesis provides the opportunity to understand conservative genetic mechanisms underlying fertile female gamete development. In this study, we showed that the Drosophila DNA-binding protein GAGA factor (GAF) had a multifunctional role in oogenesis and it is involved in the regulation of this process genetic program. We studied the influence on Drosophila oogenesis of a number of mutations in the 5' region of the Trl gene that encodes GAF.

New slbo-Gal4 driver lines for the analysis of border cell migration during Drosophila oogenesis.

Border cell (BC) migration during Drosophila oogenesis is an excellent model for the analysis of the migratory and invasive cell behavior. Most studies on BC migration have exploited a slbo-Gal4 driver to regulate gene expression in these cells or to mark them. Here, we report that the slbo-Gal4 transgene present in the line #6458 from the Bloomington Stock Center is inserted within chickadee (chic), a gene encoding the actin-binding protein Profilin, which promotes actin polymerization and is known to be involved in cell migration.

GAGA protein is essential for male germ cell development in Drosophila.

The Drosophila Trithorax-like (Trl) gene encodes a GAGA factor which regulates a number of developmentally important genes. In this study, we identify a new function for Drosophila GAGA factor in male germ cell development. Trl mutants carrying strong hypomorphic alleles display loss of primordial germ cells during their migration in embryogenesis and severe disruption in mitochondria structure during early spermatogenesis.

Capping protein beta is required for actin cytoskeleton organisation and cell migration during Drosophila oogenesis.

Capping protein (CP) is a well-characterised actin-binding protein important for regulation of actin filament (AF) assembly. CP caps the barbed end of AFs, inhibiting the addition and loss of actin monomers. In Drosophila melanogaster, the gene encoding CP β-subunit is named capping protein beta (cpb; see Hopmann et al.