Maintaining sufficient nanos is a critical function for polar granule component in the specification of primordial germ cells.

Primordial germ cells (PGC) are the precursors of germline stem cells. In Drosophila, PGC specification is thought to require transcriptional quiescence and three genes, polar granule component (pgc), nanos (nos), and germ cell less (gcl) function to downregulate Pol II transcription. While it is not understood how nos or gcl represses transcription, pgc does so by inhibiting the transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb), which is responsible for phosphorylating Ser2 residues in the heptad repeat of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest Pol II subunit.

A microfluidic chamber for analysis of neuron-to-cell spread and axonal transport of an alpha-herpesvirus.

Alpha-herpesviruses, including herpes simplex virus and pseudorabies virus (PRV), infect the peripheral nervous system (PNS) of their hosts. Here, we describe an in vitro method for studying neuron-to-cell spread of infection as well as viral transport in axons. The method centers on a novel microfluidic chamber system that directs growth of axons into a fluidically isolated environment.

The dynamics of fluorescently labeled endogenous gurken mRNA in Drosophila.

During Drosophila oogenesis, the targeted localization of gurken (grk) mRNA leads to the establishment of the axis polarity of the egg. In early stages of oogenesis, grk mRNA is found at the posterior of the oocyte, whereas in the later stages grk mRNA is positioned at the dorsal anterior corner of the oocyte. In order to visualize the real-time localization and anchorage of endogenous grk mRNA in living oocytes, we have utilized the MS2-MCP system.

Role of eye movements in the retinal code for a size discrimination task.

The concerted action of saccades and fixational eye movements are crucial for seeing stationary objects in the visual world. We studied how these eye movements contribute to retinal coding of visual information using the archer fish as a model system. We quantified the animal's ability to distinguish among objects of different sizes and measured its eye movements.

In vitro analysis of transneuronal spread of an alphaherpesvirus infection in peripheral nervous system neurons.

The neurotropic alphaherpesviruses invade and spread in the nervous system in a directional manner between synaptically connected neurons. Until now, this property has been studied only in living animals and has not been accessible to in vitro analysis. In this study, we describe an in vitro system in which cultured peripheral nervous system neurons are separated from their neuron targets by an isolator chamber ring.