FlyRNAi.org—the database of the Drosophila RNAi screening center: 2012 update

FlyRNAi (http://www.flyrnai.org), the database and website of the Drosophila RNAi Screening Center (DRSC) at Harvard Medical School, serves a dual role, tracking both production of reagents for RNA interference (RNAi) screening in Drosophila cells and RNAi screen results. The database and website is used as a platform for community availability of protocols, tools, and other resources useful to researchers planning, conducting, analyzing or interpreting the results of Drosophila RNAi screens. Based on our own experience and user feedback, we have made several changes. Specifically, we have restructured the database to accommodate new types of reagents; added information about new RNAi libraries and other reagents; updated the user interface and website; and added new tools of use to the Drosophila community and others. Overall, the result is a more useful, flexible and comprehensive website and database

CYP genotypes influence the effect of tamoxifen therapy on serum lipids

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110066/1/cptclpt2004270.pd

ER‐alpha and ER‐beta genotypes predict tamoxifen effects on serum lipids in breast cancer patients

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110087/1/cptclpt200418.pd

Pii‐18

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110052/1/cptclpt2006156.pd

Pi‐29

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110026/1/cptclpt200664.pd

Developing Artemisia annua for the extraction of artemisinin to treat multi-drug resistant malaria

Keynote Lecture presented at the 23rd Conference on Isoprenoids. Minsk, Belarus, September 4-7, 2016Semi-synthetic derivatives of the sesquiterpene artemisinin have worldwide become the main treatment for P. falciparum malaria. Artemisinin-combination therapies (ACTs), containing artemether or artesunate combined with non-isoprenoid drugs, are recommended as first line treatment by the World Health Organization, particularly in areas where resistance against quinine and quinine analogues has developed. Whereas methods for the total synthesis of artemisinin have been developed, artemisinin extracted from the leaves of Artemisia annua L. (Asteraceae) is still the preferred source for commercial production of antimalarial drugs. The biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin is well-known and a number of genes that regulate artemisinin biosynthesis have been identified. Various attempts have been made to enhance the yield of artemisinin in crops or plant cell cultures through the use of genetic engineering. Another approach has been semi-synthesis of artemisinin via artemisinic acid in genetically engineered yeast. Although genetic engineering holds a great promise for the future, currently the largest improvements in artemisinin yield have been obtained through creation of high-yielding varieties by classical breeding programs combined with modern agricultural production techniques

Specific requirement of NMDA receptors for long-term memory consolidation in Drosophila ellipsoid body

In humans and many other animals, memory consolidation occurs through multiple temporal phases and usually involves more than one neuroanatomical brain system. Genetic dissection of Pavlovian olfactory learning in Drosophila melanogaster has revealed multiple memory phases, but the predominant view holds that all memory phases occur in mushroom body neurons. Here, we demonstrate an acute requirement for NMDA receptors (NMDARs) outside of the mushroom body during long-term memory (LTM) consolidation. Targeted dsRNA-mediated silencing of Nmdar1 and Nmdar2 (also known as dNR1 or dNR2, respectively) in cholinergic R4m-subtype large-field neurons of the ellipsoid body specifically disrupted LTM consolidation, but not retrieval. Similar silencing of functional NMDARs in the mushroom body disrupted an earlier memory phase, leaving LTM intact. Our results clearly establish an anatomical site outside of the mushroom body involved with LTM consolidation, thus revealing both a distributed brain system subserving olfactory memory formation and the existence of a system-level memory consolidation in Drosophila

The Pharmacogenetics Research Network: From SNP Discovery to Clinical Drug Response

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109975/1/cpt6100087.pd

The Pharmacogenetics Research Network: From SNP Discovery to Clinical Drug Response

The NIH Pharmacogenetics Research Network (PGRN) is a collaborative group of investigators with a wide range of research interests, but all attempting to correlate drug response with genetic variation. Several research groups concentrate on drugs used to treat specific medical disorders (asthma, depression, cardiovascular disease, addiction of nicotine, and cancer), whereas others are focused on specific groups of proteins that interact with drugs (membrane transporters and phase II drug-metabolizing enzymes). The diverse scientific information is stored and annotated in a publicly accessible knowledge base, the Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics Knowledge base (PharmGKB). This report highlights selected achievements and scientific approaches as well as hypotheses about future directions of each of the groups within the PGRN. Seven major topics are included: informatics (PharmGKB), cardiovascular, pulmonary, addiction, cancer, transport, and metabolism