RESEARCH ARTICLES
- B-type nuclear lamin and the nuclear pore complex Nup107-160 influences maintenance of the spindle envelope required for cytokinesis in Drosophila male meiosis
Summary: B-type lamin, positioned by nuclear pore component Nup107, strengthens the membranous intracellular structure supporting the microtubule bundles essential for cytokinesis in Drosophila male meiosis.
- Plasmodium AdoMetDC/ODC bifunctional enzyme is essential for male sexual stage development and mosquito transmission
Summary: We provide the first genetic evidence for the crucial roles of de novo polyamine biosynthesis in the development of Plasmodium male sexual stages and in the transmission of malaria parasite to mosquito.
- AβPP processing results in greater toxicity per amount of Aβ1-42 than individually expressed and secreted Aβ1-42 in Drosophila melanogaster
Summary: In Drosophila, the proteotoxic effect of Aβ1-42 is highly dependent on how and where the peptide is generated, rather than on the peptide level in the flies, with implications for Alzheimer's disease research.
- Loss of function of the Drosophila Ninein-related centrosomal protein Bsg25D causes mitotic defects and impairs embryonic development
Summary: In humans, mutations in Ninein or Ninein-like protein result in microcephaly and other severe diseases. We show that while flies lacking the Ninein orthologue can survive, many die as embryos with defects in mitosis.
- Outperforming hummingbirds’ load-lifting capability with a lightweight hummingbird-like flapping-wing mechanism
Summary: The stroke-cam flapping mechanism closely mimics the wing motion of a hummingbird. It is the only lightweight hummingbird-sized flapping mechanism which generates a harmonic wing stroke with both a high flapping frequency and a large stroke amplitude.
- Two types of dominant male cichlid fish: behavioral and hormonal characteristics
Summary: We discover a subclass of dominant male in A. burtoni with escalating aggression that displays distinct behavioral and endocrine profiles, which may serve as a model to investigate maladaptive aggressive behavior.
- Quasi-steady state aerodynamics of the cheetah tail
Summary: The aerodynamics of the cheetah tail are non-trivial. This paper is the first to quantify the effect of aerodynamic forces from a cheetah's tail during rapid manoeuvres.
- Gait in ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) and chickens (Gallus gallus) – similarities in adaptation to high growth rate
Summary: Different bird species bred for meat production have adapted their gait in similar ways to handle the extra loads imposed on their legs by larger muscle masses.
- Probing extracellular Sonic hedgehog in neurons
Summary: In the developing brain, Sonic hedgehog molecules localize in neuronal filopodia and preferentially position at cell-to-cell contacts. In cultured neurons, Sonic hedgehog is also found in extracellular vesicles.
- Hypersalinity drives physiological and morphological changes in Limia perugiae (Poeciliidae)
Summary: A population of Limia perugiae living in hypersalinity shows modifications to osmoregulatory mechanisms, correlated with changes to body size, morphology of the head, and secondary sex features.
- The role of acroblast formation during Drosophila spermatogenesis
Summary: This study demonstrates that retrograde tethering complexes are necessary to form a functional acroblast, which is essential for normal nuclear elongation and acrosome formation during Drosophila spermatogenesis.
- A locus in Pristionchus pacificus that is responsible for the ability to give rise to fertile offspring at higher temperatures
Summary: Here we describe a phenotype in Pristionchus pacificus responsible for increased fitness at higher temperatures, and present mapping of a locus responsible for this ability in two natural isolates.
- An in vitro model of granuloma-like cell aggregates substantiates early host immune responses against Mycobacterium massiliense infection
Summary: An in vitro model of granuloma-like cell aggregates infected with Mycobacterium massiliense improves our understanding of the interplay of host immune cells with mycobacteria.
- Alcohol exposure leads to unrecoverable cardiovascular defects along with edema and motor function changes in developing zebrafish larvae
Summary: Alcohol exposure causes cardiovascular defects along with edema and motor function changes in zebrafish larvae that are unrecoverable in the post-exposure period.
- Cortisol-treated zebrafish embryos develop into pro-inflammatory adults with aberrant immune gene regulation
Summary: Chronically elevated glucocorticoid stress signaling during early zebrafish development has long-term consequences that affect immune gene expression and regulation in adulthood.
METHODS & TECHNIQUES
- Ultra-superovulation for the CRISPR-Cas9-mediated production of gene-knockout, single-amino-acid-substituted, and floxed mice
Summary: We demonstrate the production of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout and knock-in mice using a recently developed ultra-superovulation technique to obtain greater numbers of oocytes compared with conventional methods.
- Development of a diet-induced murine model of diabetes featuring cardinal metabolic and pathophysiological abnormalities of type 2 diabetes
Summary: We describe a murine model of type 2 diabetes based on chronic consumption of an energy-dense diet. Longitudinal sampling demonstrates metabolic and pathological changes closely simulating progression to overt diabetes.
- Recovering signals in physiological systems with large datasets
Summary: We introduce two methods to recover true physiological signals from indirectly measured data. As a demonstration, we show precise recovery of gas-exchange patterns from a grasshopper recorded in a flow-through respirometry system.
This issue
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
Biology Open and COVID-19
We are aware that the COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on researchers worldwide. The Editors of all The Company of Biologists’ journals have been considering ways in which we can alleviate concerns that members of our community may have around publishing activities during this time. Read about the actions we are taking at this time.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the Editorial Office if you have any questions or concerns.
Interview – Savant Thakur
Savant Thakur was a Ph.D. student in Professor Gordon S. Lynch’s lab (The University of Melbourne) working towards understanding the mechanisms of defective muscle repair in muscle diseases and wasting disorders. Sadly, Savant passed away on June 16, 2019 and so one of his supervisors, Professor Lynch, spoke to BiO about Savant's work and character.
A day in the life of a returning spider lab
Back in 2016, two PhD students in Alistair McGregor’s lab at Oxford Brookes shared a day in the life of a spider lab on the Node. Four years and one pandemic later, we caught up with Alistair to find out how his lab has responded to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.