Site occupancy calibration of taxane pharmacology in live cells and tissues.

Drug receptor site occupancy is a central pharmacology parameter that quantitatively relates the biochemistry of drug binding to the biology of drug action. Taxanes and epothilones bind to overlapping sites in microtubules (MTs) and stabilize them. They are used to treat cancer and are under investigation for neurodegeneration.

The Atg1-Tor pathway regulates yolk catabolism in Drosophila embryos.

Yolk provides an important source of nutrients during the early development of oviparous organisms. It is composed mainly of vitellogenin proteins packed into membrane-bound compartments called yolk platelets. Catabolism of yolk is initiated by acidification of the yolk platelet, leading to the activation of Cathepsin-like proteinases, but it is unknown how this process is triggered.

Identification and characterization of dynein genes in Tetrahymena.

We describe the protocol through which we identify and characterize dynein subunit genes in the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila. The gene(s) of interest is found by searching the Tetrahymena genome, and it is characterized in silico including the prediction of the open reading frame and identification of likely introns. The gene is then characterized experimentally, including the confirmation of the exon-intron organization of the gene and the measurement of the expression of the gene in nondeciliated and reciliating cells.