A polycistronic locus encodes both a tumor-suppressive microRNA and a long non-coding RNA regulating testis morphology in Drosophila.

The impact of non-coding RNAs on stem cell biology and differentiation processes is an important and incompletely understood area of research. Using the testes of as a valuable system for investigating these processes, we identified a polycistronic locus from which two non-coding transcripts, and the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) , are produced, with alternative polyadenylation implicated in regulation of their differential expression levels. We report here that each transcript has a distinct role in Drosophila testes; the increased expression of results in the disruption of the muscle sheath covering the testis, and the absence of leads to the emergence of germ-cell tumors in developing flies.

MIC10b can polymerize into cristae-shaping filaments.

Cristae are invaginations of the mitochondrial inner membrane that are crucial for cellular energy metabolism. The formation of cristae requires the presence of a protein complex known as MICOS, which is conserved across eukaryotic species. One of the subunits of this complex, MIC10, is a transmembrane protein that supports cristae formation by oligomerization.

Signaling through the dystrophin glycoprotein complex affects the stress-dependent transcriptome in Drosophila.

Deficiencies in the human dystrophin glycoprotein complex (DGC), which links the extracellular matrix with the intracellular cytoskeleton, cause muscular dystrophies, a group of incurable disorders associated with heterogeneous muscle, brain and eye abnormalities. Stresses such as nutrient deprivation and aging cause muscle wasting, which can be exacerbated by reduced levels of the DGC in membranes, the integrity of which is vital for muscle health and function. Moreover, the DGC operates in multiple signaling pathways, demonstrating an important function in gene expression regulation.

Tissue-specific regulation of translational readthrough tunes functions of the traffic jam transcription factor.

Translational readthrough (TR) occurs when the ribosome decodes a stop codon as a sense codon, resulting in two protein isoforms synthesized from the same mRNA. TR has been identified in several eukaryotic organisms; however, its biological significance and mechanism remain unclear. Here, we quantify TR of several candidate genes in Drosophila melanogaster and characterize the regulation of TR in the large Maf transcription factor Traffic jam (Tj).

Response of biological soil crust diazotrophs to season, altered summer precipitation, and year-round increased temperature in an arid grassland of the colorado plateau, USA.

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts), which supply significant amounts of fixed nitrogen into terrestrial ecosystems worldwide (∼33 Tg y(-1)), are likely to respond to changes in temperature and precipitation associated with climate change. Using nifH gene-based surveys, we explored variation in the diazotrophic community of biocrusts of the Colorado Plateau, USA in response to season (autumn vs. spring), as well as field manipulations that increased the frequency of small volume precipitation events and year-round soil temperature.

Functional genomics identifies neural stem cell sub-type expression profiles and genes regulating neuroblast homeostasis.

The Drosophila larval central brain contains about 10,000 differentiated neurons and 200 scattered neural progenitors (neuroblasts), which can be further subdivided into ~95 type I neuroblasts and eight type II neuroblasts per brain lobe. Only type II neuroblasts generate self-renewing intermediate neural progenitors (INPs), and consequently each contributes more neurons to the brain, including much of the central complex. We characterized six different mutant genotypes that lead to expansion of neuroblast numbers; some preferentially expand type II or type I neuroblasts.