Behavioral Genetics of the Fly (Drosophila Melanogaster) PDF Download

Author: Josh Dubnau
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781139959629
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
A comprehensive portrayal of the behaviour genetics of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and the methods used in these studies.

Author: Milton Davis Huettel
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1489934871
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
In the preface to Sir Vincent B. Wigglesworth's classic 1939 book on insect physiology he asserted that insects provide an ideal medium in which to study all the problems of physiology. A strong case can be made as well for the use of insects as significant systems for the study of behavior and genetics. Contributions to genetics through decades of research on Drosophila species have made this small fly the most important metazoan in genetics research. At the same time, population and behavioral research on insects and other invertebrates have provid ed new perspectives that can be combined with the genetics approach. Through such in tegrated research we are able to identify evolutionary genetics of behavior as a highly signifi cant emerging area of interest. These perspectives are ably described by Dr. Guy Bush in the introductory chapter of this book. During March 21-24, 1983, many of the world's leading scientists in invertebrate behavioral genetics were drawn together in Gainesville, Florida, for a colloquium entitled "Evolutionary Genetics of Invertebrate Behavior." This conference was sponsored jointly by the Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, chaired by Dr. Daniel Shankland, and the Insect Attractants, Behavior and Basic Biology Research Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, directed then by Dr. Derrell Chambers.

Author: Josh Dubnau
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107009030
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
A comprehensive portrayal of the behaviour genetics of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and the methods used in these studies.

Author: Nicholas Jourjine
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 93

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Book Description
Eating food and drinking water are fundamental requirements for animal survival. Understanding how animal nervous systems regulate these behaviors has been a focus of neuroscience research for over a century. Until recently, however, a lack of experimental tools has made it challenging to identify the molecules and neurons that orchestrate food and water ingestion behaviors. Here, I use the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model to identify such molecules and neurons. I find that a group of four neurons regulates both food and water ingestion in Drosophila, and that they accomplish this by co-expression of molecules that confer on them sensitivity to internal signals of both hunger and thirst. In the first part of this dissertation (chapter 2), I describe the discovery of a novel group of neurons in the Drosophila brain, and show that they are regulators of both food and water ingestion. This work is presented in the form of a published co-first author manuscript. Using genetic tools, behavioral assays, and calcium imaging, I show, together with co-authors Brendan Mullaney and Kevin Mann, that these neurons, which we name ISNs (Interoceptive SEZ Neurons), are sensitive both to an internal signal of nutrient deprivation, the glucagon-like peptide adipokinetic hormone (AKH), and an internal signal of water abundance, extracellular osmolality. We further show that this dual sensitivity arises because ISNs co-express a G-protein coupled receptor, the adipokinetic hormone receptor (AKHR), and a conserved TRPV channel, Nanchung (Nan), which act as molecular sensors of AKH and osmolality, respectively. Finally, we show that ISN activity is sufficient to regulate both sugar and water consumption in a manner that promotes homeostasis. In the second part of this dissertation (chapter 3), I use a combination of behavioral genetics and calcium imaging to characterize neural circuits downstream of ISNs. I show that ISNs likely express and release the peptide dILP-3, an insulin-like peptide, and determine the anatomy of neurons post-synaptic to ISNs. Finally, I use large-scale calcium imaging to characterize how AKH (and, by extension, ISN activity) modulates neural responses to the taste of sugar and water. In the final part of this dissertation (chapter 4), I place the above results in the context of mammalian studies of food and water ingestion. I argue that understanding how nervous systems regulate the ingestion of food and water will require a deeper understanding of the interactions between neural regulators of these behaviors. This work is presented as a published first author manuscript.

Author: Mark Jeffrey Fitzpatrick
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780494398265
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description
Understanding of the origin, maintenance, and importance of variation in genes provides a framework for evolutionary genetic analyses. I attempt to broaden our understanding of the evolutionary genetics of behaviour by studying the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Allelic variation in foraging (for) underlies a larval foraging behaviour polymorphism. Since the foraging gene has been recently shown to affect similar behaviours in honey bees and nematodes, I explored the possibility of a widespread link between this gene and behaviour. Molecular phylogenies, constructed from the amino acid sequences of protein encoded by for (PKG) from an array of species, suggest that the link may extend into vertebrates. This type of conserved gene function can provide a source of candidate genes since the genes affecting behaviour in one species likely influence similar behaviours in additional species. I outline a candidate gene approach (CGA) in an attempt to motivate the integration of modern genetics with behavioural ecology. I describe how candidate genes can be useful for predicting behaviour, manipulating traits, and providing a basis for comparative analyses. I use quantitative trait locus mapping and the CGA to identify a second naturally varying gene, in addition to for, that affects foraging behaviour. I find that wings up A (wupA) is a negative modifier of for that suppresses one of the natural for alleles (forR, rover) but does not affect the other (forS, sitter). This appears to be accomplished by post-translational interactions between the proteins encoded by for and wupA. I show that negative frequency-dependent selection acting on for can maintain the rover/sitter polymorphism. Under food limitation, I find that the fitness of either of the variants is highest when they are rare in the population. By analyzing the D. melanogaster genome, I challenge the long-standing prediction of sex linkage in the genes affecting sexual selection. I find that the genes are distributed throughout the genome and I suggest that the high prevalence of pleiotropic effects (multiple phenotypes of a gene) may account for the lack of predominant sex linkage. Collectively, my thesis examines several of the fundamental issues in evolutionary genetics through analyses of animal behaviour.

Author: Jeffrey C. Hall
Publisher: Gulf Professional Publishing
ISBN: 9780120176489
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
Biological rhythms, such as the sleep-wake cycle or circadian clock, are an intriguing aspect of biology. The regulation of daily rhythmicity has long been a mystery, up until the mid-1980's when a key gene in the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, was molecularly identified. Genetic and molecular chronobiology of Drosophila has been a driving force in this field of inquiry ever since. This book describes and evaluates all of the studies of this sort, discussing the manner by which these investigations have spread out in various directions of rhythmic biology, including genetic and molecular approaches used on other insect species. * Discusses rhythm genetics in insects, from early investigations to current state-of-the-art * Presents all relevant mutants and genes * Highlights the mystery of the "clock mechanism" in full detail including the remaining puzzles to be solved

Author: Robin F. Chan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
The genetic pathways influencing alcohol abuse and dependence are poorly characterized. Many critical discoveries about the interactions between ethanol-related behaviors and genetics have been made in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Coupling the statistical power of model organism studies to human association studies bolsters the analytical efficacy of these genomic approaches. A variety of behavioral assays are available for assessing behavioral responses to ethanol in Drosophila. However, we find our previously described eRING assay is influenced by the commonly used transgenic marker mini-white. We developed a Simple Sedation Assay (SSA) that is insensitive to the effects of white and mini-white. In SSAs, expression of endogenous wild-type white was not necessary for normal responses to ethanol. Neither expression nor RNAi-mediated knockdown of the transgenic mini-white influenced the effects of ethanol in flies. Critically, mini-white expression did not affect the phenotypes of flies with known alterations in ethanol sensitivity. Also, loss of function mutations in Clic show decreased sensitivity to ethanol in both eRING assays (as previously reported) and SSAs. Therefore, we explored the role of the known Clic interactors, TGF-[beta] and ryanodine receptors. These studies were inconclusive but do not exclude the need for future work. Finally, using bioinformatic tools we constructed a mutli-species network of genes predicted to interact with Clic. Our RNAi screen against the Clic network serves as an important proof-of-concept and holds great potential for uncovering important therapeutic targets for alcohol use disorders.

Author: John L. Fuller
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000388573
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Originally published in 1986, we were living in a world in which the number of publications in behaviour genetics had reached a point where it was difficult, even for those teaching the subject, to keep up with the literature. The editors of this title believe that there is a need for people who have planned and executed long-term research programs to summarize and comment on their results. This volume was intended to help meet that need. The authors were given free choice of subject and format. The result is a variety of topics that had been researched mainly over the previous decade. Chapter 1 is an exception and looked back at the work of others in behaviour genetics over a quarter-century and tried to detect trends in the types of research done in the field.

Author: Yong-Kyu Kim
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387767274
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 564

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Book Description
This handbook provides research guidelines to study roles of the genes and other factors involved in a variety of complex behaviors. Utilizing methodologies and theories commonly used in behavior genetics, each chapter features an overview of the selected topic, current issues, as well as current and future research.

Author: Daisuke Yamamoto
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 9780080551609
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
The field of genetics is rapidly evolving and new medical breakthroughs are occuring as a result of advances in knowledge of genetics. Advances in Genetics continually publishes important reviews of the broadest interest to geneticists and their colleagues in affiliated disciplines. Nine chapters on the most advanced research on the differentiating behaviors among sexes More than 300 pages of articles from leading international scientists, this volume offers genetic behaviorial information related to drosophila, mice, birds, voles, and mammals Hot topics include sex differences in brain and behavior; genomic imprinting and the evolution of sex differences; gene regulation; peptide pheromone production and reception, and more