Calcium imaging revealed no modulatory effect on odor-evoked responses of the Drosophila antennal lobe by two populations of inhibitory local interneurons

Strube-Bloss M, Grabe V, Hansson BS, Sachse S. Calcium imaging revealed no modulatory effect on odor-evoked responses of the Drosophila antennal lobe by two populations of inhibitory local interneurons. Scientific Reports. 2017;7(1): 7854

Biophysics at the coffee shop: lessons learned working with George Oster

Over the past 50 years, the use of mathematical models, derived from physical reasoning, to describe molecular and cellular systems has evolved from an art of the few to a cornerstone of biological inquiry. George Oster stood out as a pioneer of this paradigm shift from descriptive to quantitative biology not only through his numerous research accomplishments, but also through the many students and postdocs he mentored over his long career. Those of us fortunate enough to have worked with George agree that his sharp intellect, physical intuition and passion for scientific inquiry not only inspired us as scientists but also greatly influenced the way we conduct research. We would like to share a few important lessons we learned from George in honor of his memory and with the hope that they may inspire future generations of scientists.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, accepted in Molecular Biology of the Cel

Assessment of recent outbreaks of Dickeya sp (syn. Erwinia chrysanthemi) slow wilt in potato crops in Israel

Suspected Dickeya sp. strains were obtained from potato plants and tubers collected from commercial plots. The disease was observed on crops of various cultivars grown from seed tubers imported from the Netherlands during the spring seasons of 2004-2006, with disease incidence of 2-30% ( 10% in average). In addition to typical wilting symptoms on the foliage, in cases of severe infection, progeny tubers were rotten in the soil. Six strains were characterised by biochemical, serological and PCR amplification. All tests verified the strains as Dickeya sp. The repPCR and the biochemical assays showed that the strains isolated from blackleg diseased plants in Israel were very similar, if not identical to strains isolated from Dutch seed potatoes, suggesting that the infection in Israel originated from the Dutch seed. The strains were distantly related to D. dianthicola strains, typically found in potatoes in Western Europe, and were similar to biovar 3 D. dadanti or D. zeae. This is the first time that the presence of biovar 3 strains in potato in the Netherlands is described. One of the strains was used for pathogenicity assays on potato cvs Nicola and Mondial. Symptoms appeared 2 to 3 days after stem inoculation, and 7 to 10 days after soil inoculation. The control plants treated with water, or plants inoculated with Pectobacterium carotovorum, did not develop any symptoms with either method of inoculation. The identity of Dickeya sp. and P. carotovorum re- isolated from inoculated plants was confirmed by PCR and ELISA

A Factorization Algorithm for G-Algebras and Applications

It has been recently discovered by Bell, Heinle and Levandovskyy that a large class of algebras, including the ubiquitous $G$-algebras, are finite factorization domains (FFD for short). Utilizing this result, we contribute an algorithm to find all distinct factorizations of a given element $f \in \mathcal{G}$, where $\mathcal{G}$ is any $G$-algebra, with minor assumptions on the underlying field. Moreover, the property of being an FFD, in combination with the factorization algorithm, enables us to propose an analogous description of the factorized Gr\"obner basis algorithm for $G$-algebras. This algorithm is useful for various applications, e.g. in analysis of solution spaces of systems of linear partial functional equations with polynomial coefficients, coming from $\mathcal{G}$. Additionally, it is possible to include inequality constraints for ideals in the input

How frequently are insects wounded in the wild? A case study using Drosophila melanogaster

Wounding occurs across multicellular organisms. Wounds can affect host mobility and reproduction, with ecological consequences for competitive interactions and predator–prey dynamics. Wounds are also entry points for pathogens. An immune response is activated upon injury, resulting in the deposition of the brown-black pigment melanin in insects. Despite the abundance of immunity studies in the laboratory and the potential ecological and evolutionary implications of wounding, the prevalence of wounding in wild-collected insects is rarely systematically explored. We investigated the prevalence and potential causes of wounds in wild-collected Drosophilidae flies. We found that 31% of Drosophila melanogaster were wounded or damaged. The abdomen was the most frequently wounded body part, and females were more likely to have melanized patches on the ventral abdomen, compared with males. Encapsulated parasitoid egg frequency was approximately 10%, and just under 1% of Drosophilidae species had attached mites, which also caused wounds. Wounding is prevalent in D. melanogaster, likely exerting selection pressure on host immunity for two reasons: on a rapid and efficient wound repair and on responding efficiently to opportunistic infections. Wounding is thus expected to be an important driver of immune system evolution and to affect individual fitness and population dynamics

Conformational transitions of the sodium-dependent sugar transporter, vSGLT.

Sodium-dependent transporters couple the flow of Na+ ions down their electrochemical potential gradient to the uphill transport of various ligands. Many of these transporters share a common core structure composed of a five-helix inverted repeat and deliver their cargo utilizing an alternating-access mechanism. A detailed characterization of inward-facing conformations of the Na+-dependent sugar transporter from Vibrio parahaemolyticus (vSGLT) has previously been reported, but structural details on additional conformations and on how Na+ and ligand influence the equilibrium between other states remains unknown. Here, double electron-electron resonance spectroscopy, structural modeling, and molecular dynamics are utilized to deduce ligand-dependent equilibria shifts of vSGLT in micelles. In the absence and presence of saturating amounts of Na+, vSGLT favors an inward-facing conformation. Upon binding both Na+ and sugar, the equilibrium shifts toward either an outward-facing or occluded conformation. While Na+ alone does not stabilize the outward-facing state, gating charge calculations together with a kinetic model of transport suggest that the resting negative membrane potential of the cell, absent in detergent-solubilized samples, may stabilize vSGLT in an outward-open conformation where it is poised for binding external sugars. In total, these findings provide insights into ligand-induced conformational selection and delineate the transport cycle of vSGLT

Satellite Remote Sensing of Atmospheric SO_2: Volcanic Eruptions and Anthropogenic Emissions

In this article, we present satellite data analysis of atmospheric Sulfur Dioxide (SO_2) from volcanic eruptions and anthropogenic activities. Data from Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) on board ERS-2 for the years 1996 to 2002 is analyzed using a DOAS based algorithm with the aim of retrieving SO_2 Slant Column Densities (SCDs). Difficulties in the retrieval of SO_2 SCDs due to instrumental effects are investigated in detail and significantly improved. The retrieved SCDs can be used to identify and monitor several volcanic eruptions. A brief introduction of different volcanic eruptions around the globe is presented Also informations about the anthropogenic SO_2 emissions can be easily achieved from the retrieved data set. A time series of anthropogenic SO_2 emissions over Eastern Europe is presented in this study. The time series showed high SO_2 SCDs over Eastern Europe during the winter months. The results demonstrate a high sensitivity of GOME instrument towards SO_2 emissions