Real-time study of spatio-temporal dynamics (4D) of physiological activities in alive biological specimens with different FOVs and resolutions simultaneously.

This article reports the development of a microscopy imaging system that gives feasibility for studying spatio-temporal dynamics of physiological activities of alive biological specimens (over entire volume not only for a particular section, i.e., in 4D).

Sexually dimorphic microRNA miR-190 regulates lifespan in male .

microRNAs are short noncoding RNAs that buffer fluctuations in gene expression in a myriad of physiological conditions. Here, we carried out a screen to identify the role of microRNAs in the maintenance of age-dependent neuronal functions in adult . We report that miR-190 acts in the neurons to regulate lifespan, neuronal maintanence and age-related locomotor activity specifically in male flies.

A mini-screen to identify the role of microRNAs in the Drosophila Insulin-Producing cells regulating lifespan.

Various genetic, molecular and environmental factors influence the lifespan of an organism, which includes the highly conserved insulin signaling pathway. In , Insulin-Producing cells (IPCs) present in the fly brain, analogous to vertebrate pancreas, control growth, metabolism and lifespan. Regulation of gene expression by microRNAs is strongly believed to be crucial in determining adult lifespan, however, no systematic approach has been conducted so far to study the role of microRNAs in the IPCs in the aging process.

Nutrient dependent aids in the survival of larvae during low food conditions.

Nutrition is one of the critical factors known to regulate the development and growth of organisms. Lack of nutrients affects the proper functioning and survival of organisms. However, fluctuation of the levels of nutrients is quite common in a natural environment, and organisms have evolved various molecular and physiological means by which they can survive such conditions.

Edem1 activity in the fat body regulates insulin signalling and metabolic homeostasis in .

In , nutrient status is sensed by the fat body, a functional homolog of mammalian liver and white adipocytes. The fat body conveys nutrient information to insulin-producing cells through humoral factors which regulate insulin-like peptide levels and insulin signalling. Insulin signalling has pleiotropic functions, which include the management of growth and metabolic pathways.

Lint, a transmembrane serine protease, regulates growth and metabolism in Drosophila.

Insulin signaling in Drosophila has a significant role in regulating growth, metabolism, fecundity, stress response, and longevity. The molecular mechanism by which insulin signaling regulates these vital processes is dependent on the nutrient status and oxygen availability of the organism. In a genetic screen to identify novel genes that regulate Drosophila insulin signaling, we discovered lumens interrupted (lint), a gene that has previously been shown to act in tracheal development.

Larval nutrition influences adult fat stores and starvation resistance in Drosophila.

Insulin plays a major role in connecting nutrient availability to energy homeostasis by regulating metabolic pathways. Defects in insulin signalling is the primary cause for diabetes, obesity and various metabolic disorders. Nutritional status during growth and developmental stages play a crucial role in determining adult size, fecundity and ageing.

Insulin signalling elicits hunger-induced feeding in Drosophila.

Insulin, a highly conserved peptide hormone, links nutrient availability to metabolism and growth in animals. In fed states insulin levels remain high and in animals that are food deprived insulin signalling drops. Here, we report that in Drosophila, feeding elicited by short periods of starvation is dependent on insulin signalling.

Achiasmy: Male Fruit Flies Are Not Ready to Mix.

Maintenance of the chromosomal copy number over generations and recombination between homologous chromosomes are hallmarks of meiotic cell division. This genetic exchange that take place during gamete formation leads to genetic diversity, the main driving force behind natural selection. Formation of chiasmata, the physical link between homologous chromosomes during meiosis, is a requisite for recombination.

Drosophila miR-14 regulates insulin production and metabolism through its target, sugarbabe.

Energy homeostasis depends on insulin signaling in metazoans. Insulin levels reflect the nutritional status of the animal to control levels of circulating sugar and regulate storage of resources in the form of glycogen and fat. Over the past several years, evidence has begun to accumulate that insulin production and secretion, as well as cellular responsiveness to insulin, are subject to regulation by microRNAs.

microRNA miR-14 acts to modulate a positive autoregulatory loop controlling steroid hormone signaling in Drosophila.

The insect steroid hormone Ecdysone and its receptor play important roles during development and metamorphosis and regulate adult physiology and life span. Ecdysone signaling, via the Ecdysone receptor (EcR), has been proposed to act in a positive autoregulatory loop to increase EcR levels and sensitize the animal to ecdysone pulses. Here we present evidence that this involves EcR-dependent transcription of the EcR gene, and that the microRNA miR-14 modulates this loop by limiting expression of its target EcR.

Head involution defective (Hid)-triggered apoptosis requires caspase-8 but not FADD (Fas-associated death domain) and is regulated by Erk in mammalian cells.

The molecular machinery of apoptosis is evolutionarily conserved with some exceptions. One such example is the Drosophila proapoptotic gene Head involution defective (Hid), whose mammalian homologue is not known. Hid is apoptotic to mammalian cells, and we have examined the mechanism by which Hid induces death.