Downloaded from the Berkeley Drosophila Group Database [124]
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
An Interview with Maria Leptin
Disease Models & Mechanisms 3, 136-137 (2010) doi:10.1242/dmm.005454 A MODEL FOR LIFE © 2010. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd Embracing new ideas: an interview with Maria Leptin Maria Leptin works simultaneously in the independent fields of immunology and development. She is the new director of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and runs a laboratory in Heidelberg, as well as one in Cologne. Here, she describes how she moved between fields and some of the mechanisms that she believes foster creative science. aria Leptin is not afraid to At that time, developmental biology was accept new challenges. Her beginning to use new molecular techniques early postgraduate work such as chromosome walking, which was in immunology and her allowed researchers to clone genes with recent work uses the ze- known locations, and other tools to under- brafishM as a model organism to understand stand genetics that were just becoming es- host-pathogen interactions. During the tablished. I was interested in a number of time in between, she switched both her re- things like transcription and gene regula- search focus and the model organism that tion in general, as well as the field of she used. As a group leader at the Max Drosophila development. I ended up de- DMM Planck Institute in Tübingen, she uncovered ciding spontaneously to join a lab working some of the pathways that regulate tissue on fly development at the MRC Laboratory differentiation and morphology during of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, Drosophila development. Recent work although I originally hadn’t applied to this from her lab shows important similarities in group. -
EMBO Press Release
EMBO – excellence in the life sciences PRESS RELEASE Embargo: 8 June 2021, 14:00 CEST EMBO announces 64 newly elected members EMBO announces the election of 64 life scientists to its membership. 8 June 2021 – EMBO is pleased to announce that 64 life scientists have been elected to its membership. The new EMBO Members and Associate Members join the community of more than 1,800 leading life scientists. “I am delighted to welcome the new members into our organization and look forward to working with them,” says EMBO Director Maria Leptin. “An election to the EMBO Membership recognizes outstanding achievements in the life sciences. The new members will provide expertise and guidance that will help EMBO to further strengthen its initiatives.” The 64 newly elected members reside in 21 countries: 55 new EMBO Members reside in member states of the EMBC, the intergovernmental organization that funds the major EMBO Programmes and activities. Nine new EMBO Associate Members reside in Argentina, Australia, India, Japan, and the USA. 26 of the new EMBO Members (41%) are women. EMBO Members are actively involved in the organization. They serve on EMBO Council, Committees and Advisory Editorial Boards of EMBO Press journals, evaluate applications for EMBO funding, and mentor early-career scientists. Collectively, they can influence the direction of the life sciences in Europe and beyond. New members are nominated and elected by the existing EMBO Membership; it is not possible to apply to become a member. One election is held each year. The new EMBO Members will be formally welcomed at the annual EMBO Members’ Meeting between 27 and 29 October 2021. -
EMBO Encounters Issue43.Pdf
WINTER 2019/2020 ISSUE 43 Nine group leaders selected Meet the first EMBO Global Investigators PAGE 6 Accelerating scientific publishing EMBO publishing costs Review Commons Making our journals’ platform announced finances public PAGE 3 PAGES 10 – 11 Welcome, Young Investigators! Contract replaces stipend Marking ten years 27 group leaders join the programme EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships EMBO Molecular Medicine receive an update celebrates anniversary PAGES 4 – 5 PAGE 7 PAGE 13 www.embo.org TABLE OF CONTENTS EMBO NEWS EMBO news Review Commons: accelerating publishing Page 3 EMBO Molecular Medicine turns ten © Marietta Schupp, EMBL Photolab Marietta Schupp, © Page 13 Editorial MBO was founded by scientists for Introducing 27 new Young Investigators scientists. This philosophy remains at Pages 4-5 Ethe heart of our organization until today. EMBO Members are vital in the running of our Meet the first EMBO Global programmes and activities: they screen appli- Accelerating scientific publishing 17 journals on board Investigators cations, interview candidates, decide on fund- Review Commons will manage the transfer of ing, and provide strategic direction. On pages EMBO and ASAPbio announced pre-journal portable review platform the manuscript, reviews, and responses to affili- Page 6 8-9 four members describe why they chose to ate journals. A consortium of seventeen journals New members meet in Heidelberg dedicate their time to an EMBO Committee across six publishers (see box) have joined the Fellowships: from stipends to contracts Pages 14 – 15 and what they took away from the experience. n December 2019, EMBO, in partnership with decide to submit their work to a journal, it will project by committing to use the Review Commons Page 7 When EMBO was created, the focus lay ASAPbio, launched Review Commons, a multi- allow editors to make efficient editorial decisions referee reports for their independent editorial deci- specifically on fostering cross-border inter- Ipublisher partnership which aims to stream- based on existing referee comments. -
View for Two New Positions 7 Connections in China Associated with the AMBI and the Newly Formed Genetics Cluster
www.biology.uiowa.edu Winter 2012 in this issue Changes to Biology Undergraduate and Graduate Programs Former Dean Maxson Rejoins Department of Biology 1 Strengthening Connections in China Winter 2012 | Department of Biology | The UniversiTy of ioWa neW faculty Veena Prahlad Most proteins function efficiently within a narrow range of optimal conditions. Yet, cells and organisms not only survive a wide variety of environmental and physiological fluctuations, but have evolved to colonize a vast diversity of environmental niches. Our lab seeks to understand how organisms function in, and adapt to, varying and stressful environments. To begin to understand this, we focus on an ancient and highly conserved transcriptional program that minimizes the accumulation of damaged and misfolded proteins upon exposure to stress. This transcriptional program, called the heat shock response, is implemented by the transcription factor, heat shock factor 1 (HSF1). Upon exposure to extreme environments, HSF1 activity increases the intracellular levels of specific cytoprotective proteins called the heat shock proteins (HSPs). HSPs are molecular chaperones that maintain protein conformation and help refold or degrade damaged proteins that can result due to stress, thereby restoring cellular function. In isolated cells and unicellular organisms, the heat shock response is autonomously controlled by every cell. However, in the metazoan C. elegans, although the heat shock machinery is present in every cell, the ability of the cell to activate a heat shock response is centrally controlled by the animal’s nervous system. In our lab we ask how the nervous system controls HSP gene expression in non-neuronal cells. Specifically, we investigate how the sensory perception of suboptimal conditions or stress is signaled by the nervous system, which signaling pathways are involved, how the signals are transmitted to non-neuronal cells to regulate protein folding and HSP gene expression, and how the neuronal regulation of the heat shock response impacts organismal growth and reproduction. -
A Schnurri/Mad/Medea Complex Attenuates the Dorsal–Twist Gradient Readout at Vnd
Developmental Biology 378 (2013) 64–72 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Developmental Biology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/developmentalbiology Genomes and Developmental Control A Schnurri/Mad/Medea complex attenuates the dorsal–twist gradient readout at vnd Justin Crocker a, Albert Erives b,* a Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA b Department of Biology, 143 Biology Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1324, USA article info abstract Article history: Morphogen gradients are used in developing embryos, where they subdivide a field of cells into territories Received 24 November 2012 characterized by distinct cell fate potentials. Such systems require both a spatially-graded distribution of the Received in revised form morphogen, and an ability to encode different responses at different target genes. However, the potential for 13 February 2013 different temporal responses is also present because morphogen gradients typically provide temporal cues, Accepted 4 March 2013 which may be a potential source of conflict. Thus, a low threshold response adapted for an early temporal Available online 13 March 2013 onset may be inappropriate when the desired spatial response is a spatially-limited, high-threshold expression Keywords: pattern. Here, we identify such a case with the Drosophila vnd locus, which is a target of the dorsal (dl) nuclear Drosophila concentration gradient that patterns the dorsal/ventral (D/V) axis of the embryo. The vnd gene plays a critical Morphogen gradients role in the “ventral dominance” hierarchy of vnd, ind,andmsh, which individually specify distinct D/V neural vnd columnar fates in increasingly dorsal ectodermal compartments. -
Localized Repressors Delineate the Neurogenic Ectoderm in the Early Drosophila Embryo
Developmental Biology 280 (2005) 482–493 www.elsevier.com/locate/ydbio Genomes & Developmental Control Localized repressors delineate the neurogenic ectoderm in the early Drosophila embryo Angelike StathopoulosT,1, Michael Levine Division of Genetics and Development, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Center for Integrative Genomics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA Received for publication 3 February 2005, revised 3 February 2005, accepted 3 February 2005 Abstract The Dorsal gradient produces sequential patterns of gene expression across the dorsoventral axis of early embryos, thereby establishing the presumptive mesoderm, neuroectoderm, and dorsal ectoderm. Spatially localized repressors such as Snail and Vnd exclude the expression of neurogenic genes in the mesoderm and ventral neuroectoderm, respectively. However, no repressors have been identified that establish the dorsal limits of neurogenic gene expression. To investigate this issue, we have conducted an analysis of the ind gene, which is selectively expressed in lateral regions of the presumptive nerve cord. A novel silencer element was identified within the ind enhancer that is essential for eliminating expression in the dorsal ectoderm. Evidence is presented that the associated repressor can function over long distances to silence neighboring enhancers. The ind enhancer also contains a variety of known activator and repressor elements. We propose a model whereby Dorsal and EGF signaling, together with the localized Schnurri repressor, define a broad domain of ind expression throughout the entire presumptive neuroectoderm. The ventral limits of gene expression are defined by the Snail and Vnd repressors, while the dorsal border is established by the newly defined silencer element. D 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -
A Schnurri/Mad/Medea Complex Attenuates the Dorsalamp
Developmental Biology 378 (2013) 64–72 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Developmental Biology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/developmentalbiology Genomes and Developmental Control A Schnurri/Mad/Medea complex attenuates the dorsal–twist gradient readout at vnd Justin Crocker a, Albert Erives b,* a Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA b Department of Biology, 143 Biology Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1324, USA article info abstract Article history: Morphogen gradients are used in developing embryos, where they subdivide a field of cells into territories Received 24 November 2012 characterized by distinct cell fate potentials. Such systems require both a spatially-graded distribution of the Received in revised form morphogen, and an ability to encode different responses at different target genes. However, the potential for 13 February 2013 different temporal responses is also present because morphogen gradients typically provide temporal cues, Accepted 4 March 2013 which may be a potential source of conflict. Thus, a low threshold response adapted for an early temporal Available online 13 March 2013 onset may be inappropriate when the desired spatial response is a spatially-limited, high-threshold expression Keywords: pattern. Here, we identify such a case with the Drosophila vnd locus, which is a target of the dorsal (dl) nuclear Drosophila concentration gradient that patterns the dorsal/ventral (D/V) axis of the embryo. The vnd gene plays a critical Morphogen gradients role in the “ventral dominance” hierarchy of vnd, ind,andmsh, which individually specify distinct D/V neural vnd columnar fates in increasingly dorsal ectodermal compartments. -
58 Life Science Researchers Elected As New EMBO Members
58 life science researchers elected as new EMBO Members Heidelberg, 23 May 2016 - EMBO today announced that 58 researchers in the life sciences were newly elected to its membership. 50 of the scientists reside in 13 different countries in Europe; eight Associate Members were elected from China, Japan, Lithuania, Singapore and the United States. New EMBO Members are elected annually in recognition of their contributions to scientific excellence. Their selection is a tribute to their research and achievements. “I am delighted by the addition of 58 outstanding scientists to our membership. I would like to congratulate them and welcome them to the EMBO community”, EMBO Director Maria Leptin stated. “By serving the principles of excellence and integrity through their views and actions, they make invaluable contributions to science and society.” The newly elected members and associate members are: New EMBO Members 2016 Adam Antebi Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany M. Madan Babu MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom Laure Bally-Cuif Institut de Neuroscience Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, Franc, and Institut Pasteur, Paris, France Mohamed Bentires-Alj Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland Michael Brand Center for Regenerative Therapies, TU Dresden, Germany Dana Branzei IFOM, Istituto FIRC, Milan, Italy Frank Buchholz UCC, TU Dresden, Germany Ana I. Caño-Delgado Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, Barcelona, Spain Jason S. Carroll Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom Andrew P. Carter MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom Agnieszka Chacinska International Institute of Mol. & Cell Biology in Warsaw, Poland Kristina Djinović-Carugo Max F. -
Coordinate Enhancers Share Common Organizational Features in the Drosophila Genome
Coordinate enhancers share common organizational features in the Drosophila genome Albert Erives and Michael Levine* Center for Integrative Genomics, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Genetics and Development, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 Contributed by Michael Levine, January 27, 2004 The evolution of animal diversity depends on changes in the provide a unique opportunity to determine whether coordinate regulation of a relatively fixed set of protein-coding genes. To enhancers contain similar arrangements of regulatory elements. understand how these changes might arise, we examined the The four coregulated enhancers were previously shown to organization of shared sequence motifs in four coordinately reg- share binding sites for Dorsal (GGGWWWWCYS, GGGW4– ulated neurogenic enhancers that direct similar patterns of gene 5CCM), Twist (CACATGT), Suppressor of Hairless [Su(H)] expression in the early Drosophila embryo. All four enhancers (YGTGDGAA), as well as an unknown regulatory element (the possess similar arrangements of a subset of putative regulatory ‘‘mystery site,’’ CTGWCCY). The present study identified spe- elements. These shared features were used to identify a neuro- cialized forms of the Dorsal (SGGAAANYCSS), Su(H) (CGT- genic enhancer in the distantly related Anopheles genome. We GGGAAAWDCSM), and mystery sites (CTGRCCBKSMM) suggest that the constrained organization of metazoan enhancers within each enhancer. These specialized motifs exhibit a number may be essential for their ability to produce precise patterns of of organizational constraints within a 300-bp core domain of gene expression during development. Organized binding sites each enhancer. First, the specialized Dorsal site maps within 20 should facilitate the identification of regulatory codes that link bp of an oriented Twist site. -
The Nature, Extent, and Consequences of Cryptic Genetic Variation in the Opa Repeats of Notch in Drosophila
bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/020529; this version posted June 10, 2015. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY 4.0 International license. GENETICS | INVESTIGATION The Nature, Extent, and Consequences of Cryptic Genetic Variation in the opa Repeats of Notch in Drosophila Clinton Rice∗, Danielle Beekman∗, Liping Liu∗ and Albert Erives∗, 1 ∗Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242-1324, USA ABTRACT Polyglutamine (pQ) tracts are abundant in many proteins co-interacting on DNA. The lengths of these pQ tracts can modulate their interaction strengths. However, pQ tracts > 40 residues are pathologically prone to amyloidogenic self-assembly. Here, we assess the extent and consequences of variation in the pQ-encoding opa repeats of Notch (N) in Drosophila melanogaster. We use Sanger sequencing to genotype opa sequences (50-CAX repeats), which have resisted assembly using short sequence reads. While the majority of N sequences pertain to reference opa31 (Q13HQ17) and opa32 (Q13HQ18) allelic classes, several rare alleles encode tracts > 32 residues: opa33a (Q14HQ18), opa33b (Q15HQ17), opa34 (Q16HQ17), opa35a1/opa35a2 (Q13HQ21), opa36 (Q13HQ22), and opa37 (Q13HQ23). Only one rare allele encodes a tract < 31 residues: opa23 (Q13–Q10). This opa23 allele shortens the pQ tract while simultaneously eliminating the interrupting histidine. Homozygotes for the short and long opa alleles have defects in sensory bristle organ specification, abdominal patterning, and embryonic survival. Inbred stocks with wild-type opa31 alleles become more viable when outbred, while an inbred stock with the longer opa35 becomes less viable after outcrossing to different backgrounds. -
EMBO Welcomes Thirty Young Investigators
EMBO welcomes thirty Young Investigators https://www.embo.org/news/press-releases/2020/embo-welc... ABOUT EMBO FUNDING & AWARDS EVENTS EMBO PRESS SCIENCE POLICY MEMBERS NEWS HISTORY Press releases Videos Newsletter – EMBOencounters EMBO in the news Reports & brochures Logos E-news EMBO welcomes thirty Young CONTACT [email protected] Investigators TTiillmmaannnn KKiieesssslliinngg HHeeiiddeellbbeerrgg,, 11 DDeecceemmbbeerr 22002200 – EMBO is pleased to announce that thirty life scientists have been Head, Communications selected as EMBO Young Investigators. They will join the existing network of 73 current and 384 former T. + 49 160 9019 3839 members of the programme. The new EMBO Young Investigators will receive financial and practical support for a period of four years, starting in January 2021. “We are delighted to welcome the new Young Investigators to the EMBO community and look forward to support them in leading and further developing their independent laboratories,” says EMBO Director Maria Leptin. “These 30 life scientists have demonstrated scientific excellence and are among the next generation of leading life scientists. Their participation in the EMBO Young Investigator Programme will help them in this critical phase of their careers.” The EMBO Young Investigator Programme supports life scientists who have been group leaders for less than four years and have an excellent track record of scientific achievements. They must carry out their research in an EMBC Member State, an EMBC Associate Member State (currently India and Singapore) or in countries or territories covered by a co-operation agreement (currently Taiwan and Chile). EMBO Young Investigators receive an award of 15,000 euros in the second year of their tenure and can apply for additional grants of up to 10,000 euros per year. -
Episodic Evolution of a Eukaryotic NADK Repertoire of Ancient Provenance
RESEARCH ARTICLE Episodic evolution of a eukaryotic NADK repertoire of ancient provenance Oliver VickmanID, Albert ErivesID* Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States of America * [email protected] Abstract NAD kinase (NADK) is the sole enzyme that phosphorylates nicotinamide adenine dinucleo- tide (NAD+/NADH) into NADP+/NADPH, which provides the chemical reducing power in anabolic (biosynthetic) pathways. While prokaryotes typically encode a single NADK, a1111111111 eukaryotes encode multiple NADKs. How these different NADK genes are all related to a1111111111 a1111111111 each other and those of prokaryotes is not known. Here we conduct phylogenetic analysis of a1111111111 NADK genes and identify major clade-defining patterns of NADK evolution. First, almost all a1111111111 eukaryotic NADK genes belong to one of two ancient eukaryotic sister clades corresponding to cytosolic (ªcytoº) and mitochondrial (ªmitoº) clades. Secondly, we find that the cyto-clade NADK gene is duplicated in connection with loss of the mito-clade NADK gene in several eukaryotic clades or with acquisition of plastids in Archaeplastida. Thirdly, we find that hori- OPEN ACCESS zontal gene transfers from proteobacteria have replaced mitochondrial NADK genes in only a few rare cases. Last, we find that the eukaryotic cyto and mito paralogs are unrelated to Citation: Vickman O, Erives A (2019) Episodic evolution of a eukaryotic NADK repertoire of independent duplications that occurred in sporulating bacteria, once in mycelial Actinobac- ancient provenance. PLoS ONE 14(8): e0220447. teria and once in aerobic endospore-forming Firmicutes. Altogether these findings show that https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220447 the eukaryotic NADK gene repertoire is ancient and evolves episodically with major evolu- Editor: SteÂphanie Bertrand, Laboratoire tionary transitions.