The Drosophila melanogaster host defense is complex but remarkably efficient. It is a multifaceted response to a variety of fungal, bacterial, and parasitic invaders. Current knowledge is discussed on recognition of infectious microorganisms and on the activation of intracellular signaling cascades that concur with the expression of numerous immune-responsive genes, among which, to date, the most prominent appear to encode potent antimicrobial peptides.
Nicotine has been shown to induce profound physiological and behavioural responses in invertebrate model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. Lumbriculus variegatus is an aquatic oligochaete worm which we have previously demonstrated has application within pharmacological research. Herein, we demonstrate the presence of endogenous acetylcholine and cholinesterase activity within L.
Proper formation and specification of Primordial Germ Cells (PGCs) is of special significance as they gradually transform into Germline Stem Cells (GSCs) that are ultimately responsible for generating the gametes. Intriguingly, not only the PGCs constitute the only immortal cell type but several specific determinants also underlying PGC specification such as Vasa, Nanos and Germ-cell-less are conserved through evolution. In , PGC formation and specification depends on two independent factors, the maternally deposited specialized cytoplasm (or germ plasm) enriched in germline determinants, and the mechanisms that execute the even partitioning of these determinants between the daughter cells.
Gene expression assays that are based on quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) method are still very popular, therefore, we developed qDATA, an open-source R-based bioinformatics application that offers a quick and intuitive analysis of raw cycle threshold (Ct) values. The application relies on a straightforward data input consisting in Ct values and on other mandatory fields specifying the experimental and control groups. qDATA automatically performs descriptive statistics, normality and statistical testing on 2 (or ΔCt) and 2 terms calculated with Livak's method.
Background: The lack of effective therapy for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease demands both the search for new drugs and the reconsideration of already known substances currently used in other areas of medicine. Drosophila melanogaster offers the potential to model features of Alzheimer's disease, study disease mechanisms, and conduct drug screening.
Objectives: The purpose of this work was to analyze the neuroprotective properties of the drug "carnicetine", which is an acetylated form of the natural low molecular weight compound L-carnitine.
Aberration of mitochondrial function is a shared feature of many human pathologies, characterised by changes in metabolic flux, cellular energetics, morphology, composition, and dynamics of the mitochondrial network. While some of these changes serve as compensatory mechanisms to maintain cellular homeostasis, their chronic activation can permanently affect cellular metabolism and signalling, ultimately impairing cell function. Here, we use a Drosophila melanogaster model expressing a proofreading-deficient mtDNA polymerase (POLγ) in a genetic screen to find genes that mitigate the harmful accumulation of mtDNA mutations.
