Diversity of Phylogenetic Information According to the Locus and the Taxonomic Level: An Example from a Parasitic Mesostigmatid Mite Genus

Molecular markers for cladistic analyses may perform differently according to the taxonomic group considered and the historical level under investigation. Here we evaluate the phylogenetic potential of five different markers for resolving evolutionary relationships within the ectoparasitic genus Dermanyssus at the species level, and their ability to address questions about the evolution of specialization. COI provided 9–18% divergence between species (up to 9% within species), 16S rRNA 10–16% (up to 4% within species), ITS1 and 2 2–9% (up to 1% within species) and Tropomyosin intron n 8–20% (up to 6% within species). EF-1α revealed different non-orthologous copies within individuals of Dermanyssus and Ornithonyssus. Tropomyosin intron n was shown containing consistent phylogenetic signal at the specific level within Dermanyssus and represents a promising marker for future prospects in phylogenetics of Acari. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the generalist condition is apomorphic and D. gallinae might represent a complex of hybridized lineages. The split into hirsutus-group and gallinae-group in Dermanyssus does not seem to be appropriate based upon these results and D. longipes appears to be composed of two different entities

Heterochromatin Protein 1 (HP1a) Positively Regulates Euchromatic Gene Expression through RNA Transcript Association and Interaction with hnRNPs in Drosophila

Heterochromatin Protein 1 (HP1a) is a well-known conserved protein involved in heterochromatin formation and gene silencing in different species including humans. A general model has been proposed for heterochromatin formation and epigenetic gene silencing in different species that implies an essential role for HP1a. According to the model, histone methyltransferase enzymes (HMTases) methylate the histone H3 at lysine 9 (H3K9me), creating selective binding sites for itself and the chromodomain of HP1a. This complex is thought to form a higher order chromatin state that represses gene activity. It has also been found that HP1a plays a role in telomere capping. Surprisingly, recent studies have shown that HP1a is present at many euchromatic sites along polytene chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster, including the developmental and heat-shock-induced puffs, and that this protein can be removed from these sites by in vivo RNase treatment, thus suggesting an association of HP1a with the transcripts of many active genes. To test this suggestion, we performed an extensive screening by RIP-chip assay (RNA–immunoprecipitation on microarrays), and we found that HP1a is associated with transcripts of more than one hundred euchromatic genes. An expression analysis in HP1a mutants shows that HP1a is required for positive regulation of these genes. Cytogenetic and molecular assays show that HP1a also interacts with the well known proteins DDP1, HRB87F, and PEP, which belong to different classes of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) involved in RNA processing. Surprisingly, we found that all these hnRNP proteins also bind heterochromatin and are dominant suppressors of position effect variegation. Together, our data show novel and unexpected functions for HP1a and hnRNPs proteins. All these proteins are in fact involved both in RNA transcript processing and in heterochromatin formation. This suggests that, in general, similar epigenetic mechanisms have a significant role on both RNA and heterochromatin metabolisms

A Glial Variant of the Vesicular Monoamine Transporter Is Required To Store Histamine in the Drosophila Visual System

Unlike other monoamine neurotransmitters, the mechanism by which the brain's histamine content is regulated remains unclear. In mammals, vesicular monoamine transporters (VMATs) are expressed exclusively in neurons and mediate the storage of histamine and other monoamines. We have studied the visual system of Drosophila melanogaster in which histamine is the primary neurotransmitter released from photoreceptor cells. We report here that a novel mRNA splice variant of Drosophila VMAT (DVMAT-B) is expressed not in neurons but rather in a small subset of glia in the lamina of the fly's optic lobe. Histamine contents are reduced by mutation of dVMAT, but can be partially restored by specifically expressing DVMAT-B in glia. Our results suggest a novel role for a monoamine transporter in glia that may be relevant to histamine homeostasis in other systems

Stakeholder communication in 140 characters or less: a study of community sport foundations

Community sport foundations (CSFs), like other non-profit organizations, are increasingly employing social media such as Twitter to communicate their mission and activities to their diverse stakeholder groups. However, the way these CSFs utilize social media for communicating such practices remains unclear. Through a mixed-method approach of content analysis of tweets from 22 CSFs established by English professional football clubs and interviews with key individuals within these CSFs (n = 7), this study examines the extent to which CSFs’ core activities are being communicated through Twitter and identifies the strategies employed for doing so. Reflecting the target audiences CSFs are seeking to reach through Twitter and the challenges associated with communication about projects involving marginalized groups, tweets largely concern programs related to sports participation and education. The most frequently employed communication strategy is to inform, rather than interact or engage with stakeholders. However, CSFs with higher organizational capacity attempt to go beyond mere informing towards engaging with stakeholder groups that relate to their social agenda, highlighting the importance of trained and dedicated social media personnel in optimizing CSFs’ use of Twitter for communication

All for Sport for All: Perspectives of Sport for People with a Disability in Europe.

Due to the nature of the Preparatory Action Project, this Summary Report is not meant to be a scientific paper covering all details and concepts related to disability sport, nor was it able to include all kinds and varieties of disability sports or national disability sport sector aspects, information, activities, practices and contributions. This Summary Report nonetheless has been duly built on the information received from national project and associate partners who are experts in the field and who duly researched information and practices within the time and resources given. The report shall be read together with the detailed work package and sector reports that are available online at www.allforsport.eu and include further country data, practices and references. In regards of proper use of terminology, the All for Sport for All project team has been aware and acknowledges that there are considerable debates on the different terms related to the sector. We are aware that the translation and use of some terms might be difficult and used differently in each European country2, such as e.g. “disabled people” or “disability sports”. However, the international team has decided and is confident that even an incoherent use of terms within the project or this publication (e.g. “sport for people with a disability” and “disability sport” to describe sport activities that have been developed for people with a disability) will not detract substantially from the general points we wish to make. For reasons of legibility, we also refrained from referring in every case to both sexes. References to persons are generally not gender-specific. The report’s objective is to provide the reader and especially the EU and national sport authorities and stakeholders dealing with sport for people with a disability or with disability in general with an overview and review of the current status quo of the sector. The Summary Report reflects the view of the experts involved in this project activity. By drawing conclusions and recommendations, the report shall help opening the door for a broader European dimension of disability sport with further trans-nationa

Functional expression and characterization of a Drosophila odorant receptor in a heterologous cell system

Odorant receptors (ORs) constitute the molecular basis for the detection of volatile odorous molecules and the perception of smell. Our understanding of chemical senses has been greatly expanded by the discovery of the OR gene families in vertebrates and in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Recently, candidate Drosophila OR genes have been identified. The putative ORs do not possess any primary sequence identity with known vertebrate or C. elegans receptors, but belong to the family of G protein-coupled receptors according to their predicted seven transmembrane topology. To prove olfactory function of these proteins, we expressed a member of the putative Drosophila OR gene family, Or43a, in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Using two-electrode voltage-clamp recording we identified four odors (cyclohexanone, cyclohexanol, benzaldehyde, and benzyl alcohol) that activated the receptor at low micromolar concentration and structurally related substances that did not. This report shows the function and specificity of a member of the recently identified family of Drosophila ORs expressed in a heterologous system