Mechanism of an animal toxin-antidote system.

Toxin-antidote systems are selfish genetic elements composed of a linked toxin and antidote. The toxin-antidote system in consists of a transmembrane toxin protein PEEL-1 which acts cell autonomously to kill cells. Here we investigate the molecular mechanism of PEEL-1 toxicity.

Mutations in the NXF-1:NXT-1 mRNA export complex affect gene-expression driven by the promoter.

The NXF-1 : NXT-1 heterodimer is essential for the nuclear export of mRNA. Here we describe three new alleles of and one allele of isolated from a forward genetic screen. These mutations cause no apparent phenotype under normal growth conditions, but partially suppress the lethality caused by heat-shock induced expression of the PEEL-1 toxin from .

Melanic pigmentation and light preference within and between two species.

Environmental adaptation and species divergence often involve suites of co-evolving traits. Pigmentation in insects presents a variable, adaptive, and well-characterized class of phenotypes for which correlations with multiple other traits have been demonstrated. In , the pigmentation genes and have pleiotropic effects on flies' response to light, creating the potential for correlated evolution of pigmentation and vision.