The misregulation of mitochondria-associated genes caused by GAGA-factor lack promotes autophagic germ cell death in Drosophila testes.

The Drosophila GAGA-factor encoded by the Trithorax-like (Trl) gene is DNA-binding protein with unusually wide range of applications in diverse cell contexts. In Drosophila spermatogenesis, reduced GAGA expression caused by Trl mutations induces mass autophagy leading to germ cell death. In this work, we investigated the contribution of mitochondrial abnormalities to autophagic germ cell death in Trl gene mutants.

Loss of Hsp67Bc leads to autolysosome enlargement in the Drosophila brain.

Hsp67Bc is a small heat shock protein found in Drosophila melanogaster. Apart from performing a function (common for all small heat shock proteins) of preventing aggregation of misfolded proteins, it is involved in macroautophagy regulation alongside the Starvin protein. Overexpression of the D.

Loss of E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Hyd Promotes Extra Mitosis in Germline Cysts and Massive Cell Death During Oogenesis.

The ( gene is the ortholog of mammalian tumor suppressor , which is implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes, and its regulation is impaired in various tumors. It is a member of the highly conserved HECT family of E3 ubiquitin ligases, which directly attach ubiquitin to targeted substrates. In early works, it was shown that Hyd may be a tumor suppressor because it is involved in the control of imaginal-disc cell proliferation and growth.

Protein trap: a new Swiss army knife for geneticists?

The protein trap is a powerful tool for genetic and biochemical studies of gene function in the animal kingdom. Although the original protein trap was developed for flies, it can be easily adapted to other multicellular organisms, both known models and ones with an unsequenced genome. The protein trap has been successfully applied to the fruit fly, crustaceans Parhyale hawaiensis, zebrafish, and insect and animal cell cultures.

GAGA protein is required for multiple aspects of Drosophila oogenesis and female fertility.

Investigation of Drosophila oogenesis provides the opportunity to understand conservative genetic mechanisms underlying fertile female gamete development. In this study, we showed that the Drosophila DNA-binding protein GAGA factor (GAF) had a multifunctional role in oogenesis and it is involved in the regulation of this process genetic program. We studied the influence on Drosophila oogenesis of a number of mutations in the 5' region of the Trl gene that encodes GAF.

P elements and the determinants of hybrid dysgenesis have different dynamics of propagation in Drosophila melanogaster populations.

Intraspecific hybrid dysgenesis (HD) appears after some strains of D. melanogaster are crossed. The predominant idea is that the movement of transposable P elements causes HD.

The role of Drosophila hyperplastic discs gene in spermatogenesis.

In Drosophila, the ubiquitin ligase Hyd (hyperplastic disc) is required for regulation of cell proliferation during development [Martin et al. (1977) Dev Biol 55, 213-232; Mansfield et al. (1994) Dev Biol 165, 507-526].