1,721,020 research outputs found
Bari-1, a new transposon-like family in Drosophila melanogaster with a unique heterochromatic organization
No full textEnvironmental change and the evolution of genomes: Transposable elements as translators of phenotypic plasticity into genotypic variability
No full textPhenotypic plasticity is generally explained as the result of epigenetic mechanisms modifying gene expression in response to changing environmental conditions. However, the biology of transposable elements (TEs) suggests that such elements may also induce differential gene expression by affecting regulatory regions. We discuss the ecological and evolutionary relevance of epigenetic modifications versus transposon activity, taking into account that epigenetic modifications are generally reversible but that the modifications induced by TEs are stably inherited. We outline our perspective on the multiple roles played by environmental changes in the context of adaptive evolution. Environmental perturbations can induce phenotypic variations via epigenetic modulation of gene expression and promote, at the same time, genetic variability by triggering bursts of TE activity; finally, they select which genetic variations are most advantageous for survival. Within this context, the production of environmentally induced advantageous phenotypes by epigenetic mechanisms could represent an immediate process of adaptation followed by TE-induced genotypic changes that make these phenotypic variants heritable through the germ line. This scenario could lead TEs to play different roles in the function of the time-scale of ecological variation, such as those related to climatic change in the current context of global change. In conclusion, we propose that through TE activation, environmental changes can act as inducers of genetic variability, upon which they also act as selective forces, thus triggering rapid evolutionary processes. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article
Segregation distortion in Drosophila melanogaster: Genomic organization of Responder sequences
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A subset of the elements 17.31 retrotrasposons in regions of the Y chromosome that are polytenized in larval salivary gland of Drosophila melanogaster
No full textChromosomal distribution of Heterochromatin Protein (HP1) in Drosophila: a cytological map of euchromatic HP1 binding sites
No full textChromosome banding of mitotic chromosomes from Drosophila larval brain
No full textThe classical chromosome-banding techniques developed for mammalian chromosomes do not differentiate the euchromatic arms of Drosophila mitotic chromosomes. However, some of these techniques produce a sharp and highly reproducible banding of Drosophila heterochromatin. For example, the use of quinacrine-, Hoechst-, and N-banding differentiates Drosophila heterochromatin into 61 cytological entities, allowing precise localization of heterochromatic breakpoints. These banding techniques can also be successfully used to differentiate mitotic heterochromatin of various Drosophila and mosquito species. Here we present protocols routinely used in our laboratories for chromosome banding, including the use of Hoechst, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), quinacrine, and Giemsa stains
6-N-hydroxylaminopurine (HAP)-induced accumulation of variability in haploid and diploid strains of Aspergillus nidulans.
No full textThe distribution of the transposable element Bari-1 in the Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans genomes
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