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MicroPublication Biology 2023NHR-85 is a poorly characterized nuclear hormone receptor transcription factor with an emerging role in regulating microRNA expression to control developmental timing....
NHR-85 is a poorly characterized nuclear hormone receptor transcription factor with an emerging role in regulating microRNA expression to control developmental timing. We generated the first NHR-85 translational fusion by knocking a cassette into the endogenous locus to tag all known isoforms. animals have wild-type broodsizes and NHR-85 ::GFP peaks in expression at the start of the L4 stage in epithelial cells. NHR-85 is not expressed in the germline, suggesting that while it might cooperate with the NHR-23 transcription factor to control microRNA expression, NHR-23 promotes spermatogenesis independent of NHR-85 . This strain will be a valuable resource for studying when and where NHR-85 acts to promote developmental timing.
PubMed: 37927911
DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000993 -
MicroPublication Biology 2023The auxin-inducible degron (AID) system is a widely-used system for conditional protein depletion. During the course of an experiment, we depleted the nuclear hormone...
The auxin-inducible degron (AID) system is a widely-used system for conditional protein depletion. During the course of an experiment, we depleted the nuclear hormone receptor transcription factor NHR-23 to study molting, and we recovered a spontaneous suppressor allele that bypassed the L1 larval arrest caused by NHR-23 depletion. These mutants also failed to deplete a BFP::AID reporter in the strain background, suggesting a broader defect in the AID system. These animals carried an in-frame 18 base pair insertion that produced a 6 amino acid repeat in TIR1. The larval arrest in these animals could be restored by expressing a wild-type transgene from an extrachromosomal array. Sister siblings that lost this array developed normally on auxin. Together, these experiments indicate that the mutation was causing the loss of developmental arrest in the strain. This result highlights the importance of setting up a robust secondary screen to detect such mutants if performing forward genetic screens in conjunction with the AID system.
PubMed: 37908494
DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000994 -
Scientific Reports Oct 2023Plumage color has traditionally been regarded as a static ornamental trait, but evidence is accumulating for significant color changes without molt that typically reduce...
Plumage color has traditionally been regarded as a static ornamental trait, but evidence is accumulating for significant color changes without molt that typically reduce the conspicuousness of ornamentation. In some species, the social partner seems to increase its reproductive investment if the color trait is experimentally enhanced, suggesting that color change could act as a signal. However, the information content of this signal is so far unclear. For example, birds in poor condition or making greater effort may deteriorate more severely. We used brood size manipulations to alter the reproductive effort of male and female collared flycatchers Ficedula albicollis. Both sexes showed less severe decline in some reflectance attribute of their white breast when their brood was experimentally reduced. In each sex, greater deterioration of the reflectance trait affected by the manipulation was accompanied by increased feeding rate by the partner. These feeding patterns do not prove, but are consistent with, a compensatory response by the partner to induced degradation. The manipulation effects on color change we detected confirm for the first time that plumage color deterioration can indicate current reproductive effort, thereby providing a potential fitness advantage to social partners that react to such deterioration.
Topics: Animals; Female; Male; Songbirds; Passeriformes; Reproduction; Phenotype; Color; Feathers; Pigmentation
PubMed: 37907494
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45348-0 -
Five new malformed trilobites from Cambrian and Ordovician deposits from the Natural History Museum.PeerJ 2023Injured trilobites present insight into how a completely extinct group of arthropods responded to traumatic experiences, such as failed predation and moulting...
Injured trilobites present insight into how a completely extinct group of arthropods responded to traumatic experiences, such as failed predation and moulting complications. These specimens are therefore important for more thoroughly understanding the Paleozoic predator-prey systems that involved trilobites. To expand the record of injured trilobites, we present new examples of injured and from the Campsite Cliff Shale Member of the Burgess Shale Formation (Cambrian, Miaolingian, Wuliuan), () from the Jince Formation (Cambrian, Miaolingian, Drumian), from the Llanfawr Mudstones Formation (Middle-Late Ordovician, Darriwilian-Sandbian), and from the Meadowtown Formation, (Middle-Late Ordovician, Darriwilian-Sandbian). We consider the possible origins of these malformations and conclude that most injuries reflect failed predation. Within this framework, possible predators are presented, and we uncover a marked shift in the diversity of animals that targeted trilobites in the Ordovician. We also collate other records of injured and and , highlighting that these species are targets for further understanding patterns and records of trilobite injuries.
Topics: Animals; Museums; Fossils; Arthropods; Predatory Behavior; Molting
PubMed: 37904847
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16326 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Oct 2023Marine crustaceans are severely threatened by environmental factors such as ocean acidification, but, despite the latter's negative impact on growth, molting, and...
Marine crustaceans are severely threatened by environmental factors such as ocean acidification, but, despite the latter's negative impact on growth, molting, and immunity, its effects on intestinal microflora remain poorly understood. This work studied the gut morphology and intestinal microflora of , grown in seawater of different pH levels: 8.1 (control group), 7.4 (AC74 group), and 7.0 (AC70 group). Ocean acidification was found to cause intestinal damage, while significantly altering the microflora's composition. However, the α-diversity did not differ significantly between the groups. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria decreased in the acidification groups, while at the genus level, the relative abundance of decreased. was a prominent discriminative biomarker in the AC74 group, with Actinobacteriota, Micrococcales, Beijerinckiaceae, , and Flavobacteriales being the main ones in the AC70 group. The function prediction results also indicated an enrichment of pathways related to metabolism for the acidification groups. At the same time, those related to xenobiotics' biodegradation and metabolism were inhibited in AC74 but enhanced in AC70. This is the first study examining the impact of ocean acidification on the intestinal microflora of crustaceans. The results are expected to provide a better understanding of the interactions between shrimp and their microflora in response to environmental stressors.
PubMed: 37894023
DOI: 10.3390/ani13203299 -
Journal of Fungi (Basel, Switzerland) Oct 2023) is a broad-spectrum entomopathogenic fungus that can control pests in agriculture and forestry. In this study, encoding ecdysteroid uridine diphosphate...
) is a broad-spectrum entomopathogenic fungus that can control pests in agriculture and forestry. In this study, encoding ecdysteroid uridine diphosphate glucosyltransferase gene () was successfully screened in on the medium containing 500μg/mL G418 sulfate solution through the protoplast transformation method. This enzyme has the function of 20E (20-hydroxyecdysone) inactivation, thus increasing the mortality of the early instar larvae infected with . In this study, we transformed with the gene, which deactivates 20-hydroxyecdysone, a key hormone in insect development. The results showed that transgenic killed more silkworms of the 2nd instar larvae than the wild-type with a shorter LT50 time, which was reduced by approximately 20% (day 1 of the 2nd instar silkworm infection of ) and 26.4% (day 2 of the 2nd instar silkworm infection of ) compared to the wild-type, and also showed a higher mortality number before molting. The transgenic had a higher coverage of the body surface of silkworms compared to the wild type on the 3rd instar. In summary, improving entomopathogenic fungi using biological methods such as genetic engineering is feasible.
PubMed: 37888243
DOI: 10.3390/jof9100987 -
Biology Oct 2023Induced molting is a common method to obtain a new life in laying hens, in which periodic changes in feathers are the prominent feature. Nevertheless, its precise...
Induced molting is a common method to obtain a new life in laying hens, in which periodic changes in feathers are the prominent feature. Nevertheless, its precise molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, feather and hair follicle samples were collected during fasting-induced physiological remodeling for hematoxylin-eosin staining, hormone changes and follicle traits, and transcriptome sequencing. Feather shedding was observed in F13 to R25, while newborns were observed in R3 to R32. Triiodothyronine and tetraiodothyronine were significantly elevated during feather shedding. The calcium content was significantly higher, and the ash content was significantly lower after the changeover. The determination of hair follicle traits revealed an increasing trend in pore density and a decrease in pore diameter after the resumption of feeding. According to RNA-seq results, several core genes were identified, including , , , and , which may have an impact on hair follicle growth. The focus was to discover that starvation may trigger changes in thyroid hormones, which in turn regulate feather molting through thyroid hormone synthesis, calcium signaling, and thyroid hormone signaling pathways. These data provide a valuable resource for the analysis of the molecular mechanisms underlying the cyclical growth of hair follicles in the skin during induced molting.
PubMed: 37887055
DOI: 10.3390/biology12101345 -
MicroPublication Biology 2023NHR-23 is a nuclear hormone receptor transcription factor involved in molting, apical extracellular matrix structure, and spermatogenesis. To determine NHR-23...
NHR-23 is a nuclear hormone receptor transcription factor involved in molting, apical extracellular matrix structure, and spermatogenesis. To determine NHR-23 expression dynamics, we previously tagged the endogenous locus with a tag. To allow co-localization of NHR-23 with green fluorescent protein-tagged factors of interest, we generated an equivalent strain carrying an tag to produce a C-terminal fusion. Similar to the knock-in, NHR-23 ::mScarlet::3xMyc was expressed in seam and hypodermal cells, vulval precursor cells, and the spermatogenic germline. We also observed a diffuse NHR-23::mScarlet expression pattern in spermatids and residual bodies after NHR-23 ceased to localize on chromatin. Further examination of this novel localization may provide insight into NHR-23 regulation of spermatogenesis.
PubMed: 37854098
DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000996 -
Molecular & Cellular Proteomics : MCP Nov 2023Ticks are ectoparasites that feed on blood and have an impressive ability to consume and process enormous amounts of host blood, allowing extremely long periods of...
Ticks are ectoparasites that feed on blood and have an impressive ability to consume and process enormous amounts of host blood, allowing extremely long periods of starvation between blood meals. The central role in the parasitic lifestyle of ticks is played by the midgut. This organ efficiently stores and digests ingested blood and serves as the primary interface for the transmission of tick-borne pathogens. In this study, we used a label-free quantitative approach to perform a novel dynamic proteomic analysis of the midgut of Ixodesricinus nymphs, covering their development from unfed to pre-molt stages. We identified 1534 I. ricinus-specific proteins with a relatively low proportion of host proteins. This proteome dataset, which was carefully examined by manual scrutiny, allowed precise annotation of proteins important for blood meal processing and their dynamic changes during nymphal ontogeny. We focused on midgut molecules related to lipid hydrolysis, storage, and transport, opening a yet unexplored avenue for studying lipid metabolism in ticks. Further dynamic profiling of the tick's multi-enzyme digestive network, protease inhibitors, enzymes involved in redox homeostasis and detoxification, antimicrobial peptides, and proteins responsible for midgut colonization by Borrelia spirochetes promises to uncover new targets for targeting tick nymphs, the most critical life stage for transmission the pathogens that cause tick-borne diseases.
Topics: Animals; Ixodes; Proteome; Proteomics; Digestive System
PubMed: 37832788
DOI: 10.1016/j.mcpro.2023.100663 -
Journal of Insect Science (Online) Sep 2023The domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), often poses a challenge in strain identification due to similarities in morphology and genetic...
The domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), often poses a challenge in strain identification due to similarities in morphology and genetic background. In South Korea, around 40 silkworm strains are classified as premium, including 5 endemic tri-molting strains: Goryeosammyeon, Sammyeonhonghoeback, Hansammyeon, Sun7ho, and Sandongsammyeon. These strains have potential for breeding programs in response to emerging industry demands, necessitating a reliable strain identification method. In this study, we established a molecular diagnosis approach for these 5 strains. We selected 2-4 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for each strain from whole-genome sequences of 39 strains, encompassing 37 previously studied and 2 newly added. These SNPs were utilized to construct decision trees for each endemic strain identification. The SNPs can be used to distinguish each target strain from the 38 nontarget strains by the tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction, with the exception of HMS which needs the addition of PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism method at the final step. This decision tree-based method using genomic SNPs, coupled with the 2 typing methods, produced consistent and accurate results, providing 100% accuracy. Additionally, the significant number of remaining SNPs identified in this study could be valuable for future diagnosis of the other strains.
Topics: Animals; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Bombyx; Chromosome Mapping; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Republic of Korea
PubMed: 37804503
DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iead088