Modelling mixed crop-livestock systems and climate impact assessment in sub-Saharan Africa.

Climate change significantly challenges smallholder mixed crop-livestock (MCL) systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), affecting food and feed production. This study enhances the SIMPLACE modeling framework by incorporating crop-vegetation-livestock models, which contribute to the development of sustainable agricultural practices in response to climate change. Applying such a framework in a domain in West Africa (786,500 km) allowed us to estimate the changes in crop (Maize, Millet, and Sorghum) yield, grass biomass, livestock numbers, and greenhouse gas emission in response to future climate scenarios.

ataxin-2 gene encodes two differentially expressed isoforms and its function in larval fat body is crucial for development of peripheral tissues.

Different isoforms of ataxin-2 are predicted in Drosophila and may underlie different cellular processes. Here, we validated the isoforms B and C of Drosophila ataxin-2 locus (), which we found to be expressed in various tissues and at different levels during development. dAtx2-B mRNA was detected at low amounts during all developmental stages, whereas dAtx2-C mRNA levels increase by eightfold from L3 to pupal-adult stages.

Drosophila melanogaster lipins are tissue-regulated and developmentally regulated and present specific subcellular distributions.

Lipins constitute a novel family of Mg(2+)-dependent phosphatidate phosphatases that catalyze the dephosphorylation of phosphatidic acid to yield diacylglycerol, an important intermediate in lipid metabolism and cell signaling. Whereas a single lipin is detected in less complex organisms, in mammals there are distinct lipin isoforms and paralogs that are differentially expressed among tissues. Compatible with organism tissue complexity, we show that the single Drosophila Lpin1 ortholog (CG8709, here named DmLpin) expresses at least three isoforms (DmLpinA, DmLpinK and DmLpinJ) in a temporal and spatially regulated manner.