24 research outputs found

    The genome of the crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis, a model for animal development, regeneration, immunity and lignocellulose digestion

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    The amphipod crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis is a blossoming model system for studies of developmental mechanisms and more recently regeneration. We have sequenced the genome allowing annotation of all key signaling pathways, transcription factors, and non-coding RNAs that will enhance ongoing functional studies. Parhyale is a member of the Malacostraca clade, which includes crustacean food crop species. We analysed the immunity related genes of Parhyale as an important comparative system for these species, where immunity related aquaculture problems have increased as farming has intensified. We also find that Parhyale and other species within Multicrustacea contain the enzyme sets necessary to perform lignocellulose digestion ('wood eating'), suggesting this ability may predate the diversification of this lineage. Our data provide an essential resource for further development of Parhyale as an experimental model. The first malacostracan genome will underpin ongoing comparative work in food crop species and research investigating lignocellulose as an energy source. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.20062.00

    CIL:41472, Phalangium opilio, optic nerve. In Cell Image Library

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    CIL:41401, Enallagma cyathigerum. In Cell Image Library

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    Three Dopamine Pathways Induce Aversive Odor Memories with Different Stability

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    Animals acquire predictive values of sensory stimuli through reinforcement. In the brain of Drosophila melanogaster, activation of two types of dopamine neurons in the PAM and PPL1 clusters has been shown to induce aversive odor memory. Here, we identified the third cell type and characterized aversive memories induced by these dopamine neurons. These three dopamine pathways all project to the mushroom body but terminate in the spatially segregated subdomains. To understand the functional difference of these dopamine pathways in electric shock reinforcement, we blocked each one of them during memory acquisition. We found that all three pathways partially contribute to electric shock memory. Notably, the memories mediated by these neurons differed in temporal stability. Furthermore, combinatorial activation of two of these pathways revealed significant interaction of individual memory components rather than their simple summation. These results cast light on a cellular mechanism by which a noxious event induces different dopamine signals to a single brain structure to synthesize an aversive memory

    Structural basis for the regulation of insulin-like growth factors by IGF binding proteins

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    Insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) control the extracellular distribution, function, and activity of IGFs. Here, we report an X-ray structure of the binary complex of IGF-I and the N-terminal domain of IGFBP-4 (NBP-4, residues 3–82) and a model of the ternary complex of IGF-I, NBP-4, and the C-terminal domain (CBP-4, residues 151–232) derived from diffraction data with weak definition of the C-terminal domain. These structures show how the IGFBPs regulate IGF signaling. Key features of the structures include (1) a disulphide bond ladder that binds to IGF and partially masks the IGF residues responsible for type 1 IGF receptor (IGF-IR) binding, (2) the high-affinity IGF-I interaction site formed by residues 39–82 in a globular fold, and (3) CBP-4 interactions. Although CBP-4 does not bind individually to either IGF-I or NBP-4, in the ternary complex, CBP-4 contacts both and also blocks the IGF-IR binding region of IGF-I
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