... affect neuronal development and function. We generated transgenic flies that express the cholesterol-binding D4H domain of perfringolysin O toxin and found increased levels of cholesterol in presynaptic terminals of Drosophila larval neuromuscular junctions following increased synaptic activity. Reduced...

.... Inhibition of fusion does not improve the lifespan of the fly, but does enhance its biomechanical fitness, a measure of the healthspan of the animal. Remarkably, Drosophila can maintain their epithelial tension and abdominal movements with age when cell fusion is inhibited. Epithelial cell fusion also...

.... In invertebrates, these functions depend on formation and maintenance of ‘tight’ septate junctions (SJs). However, the mechanism by which SJs affect transport competence and tissue homeostasis, and how these are modulated by ageing, remain incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that the Drosophila renal...

... protrusion and retraction to opposite sides of the interface. However, how signaling proteins become organized at interfaces to accomplish this is poorly understood. The follicular epithelial cells of Drosophila melanogaster have two signaling modules at their leading-trailing interfaces — one composed...

...-muscle Myosin II along the interface between differently fated groups of cells contributes to boundary integrity and maintains its shape via increased tension. Here, using the Drosophila wing imaginal disc, we tested whether interfacial tension driven by accumulation of Myosin is responsible...

... exocytosis that commonly mediates peptide hormone release by endocrine cells, DCVs at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction release their contents via fusion pores formed by kiss-and-run exocytosis. Here, we used fluorogen-activating protein (FAP) imaging to reveal the permeability range of synaptic DCV...

... for the indirect flight muscle (IFM), a special muscle that evolved in insect lineages to sustain high-frequency contractions for prolonged periods. One of the adaptations of the IFM is very regular sarcomeres with a very small contractile range. In Drosophila , the IFM develops during the early pupal stages...

...) are key components of such regulatory feedback networks. In Drosophila , HSPGs serve as co-receptors for a number of morphogens, including Hedgehog (Hh), Wingless (Wg), Decapentaplegic (Dpp) and Unpaired (Upd, or Upd1). Recently, Windpipe (Wdp), a chondroitin sulfate (CS) proteoglycan (CSPG), was found...

.... Here, we identified the conserved actin-crosslinking protein Swip-1 as a novel regulator controlling exocytosis of glue granules in the Drosophila salivary gland. Real-time imaging revealed that Swip-1 is simultaneously recruited with F-actin onto secreting granules in proximity to the apical membrane...

... along compartment boundaries remain elusive. Here, we show that non-muscle Myosin II and F-actin transiently accumulate and mechanical tension is increased at cell junctions along the forming anteroposterior compartment boundary in the Drosophila melanogaster pupal abdominal epidermis. Fluorescence...

...Hitomi Yamashita; Yuka Ochi; Yumi Yamada; Shogo Sasaki; Tatsuya Tago; Takunori Satoh; Akiko K. Satoh ABSTRACT Polarized transport is essential for constructing multiple plasma membrane domains in the cell. Drosophila photoreceptors are an excellent model system to study the mechanisms of polarized...

... of ribosomal subunits. Here, we show that Drosophila NOC1 (annotated CG7839) is necessary for rRNAs maturation and for a correct animal development. Its ubiquitous downregulation results in a dramatic decrease in polysome level and of protein synthesis. NOC1 expression in multiple organs...

... that is under-investigated, however, is that phagocytes not only engulf corpses but contribute to cell death progression. The aims of this study were to determine how the phagocytic receptor Draper non-autonomously induces cell death, using the Drosophila ovary as a model system. We found that Draper, expressed...

... identified Thickveins (Tkv), the receptor of Decapentaplegic (Dpp), as one of the interactors of Dx. Dpp, a Drosophila homolog of TGF-β and bone morphogenetic proteins, acts as a morphogen to specify cell fate along the anterior–posterior axis of the wing. Tight regulation of Dpp signaling is thus...

... comprise heterogeneous populations of stem and differentiated cells. Here, we examine Ca 2+ dynamics in the adult Drosophila intestine, a self-renewing epithelial organ in which stem cells continuously produce daughters that differentiate into either enteroendocrine cells or enterocytes. Live imaging...

... controversial. Here, we use genome editing to delete the PDZ domain-encoding region from Drosophila dishevelled . Canonical Wingless signalling is entirely normal in these deletion mutants; however, they show defects in multiple contexts controlled by noncanonical Wnt signalling, such as planar polarity. We use...

... cells are induced to liberate fatty acids from lipid droplets. We have shown a non-canonical role for a subset of peroxisome-assembly [Peroxin (Pex)] proteins in this process in Drosophila . Transmembrane proteins Pex3, Pex13 and Pex14 were observed to surround newly formed lipid droplets. Trafficking...

... extensively in cultured cells, studies of EVs in vivo have remained scarce. We report here that EVs are present in the developing lumen of tracheal tubes in Drosophila embryos. We define two distinct EV subpopulations, one of which contains the Munc13-4 (also known as UNC13D) homolog Staccato (Stac...

...Eliana F. Torres-Zelada; Smitha George; Hannah R. Blum; Vikki M. Weake ABSTRACT The histone acetyltransferase Gcn5 is critical for gene expression and development. In Drosophila , Gcn5 is part of four complexes (SAGA, ATAC, CHAT and ADA) that are essential for fly viability and have key roles...

... (PAINT) routinely gives 30 nm resolution or better at depths greater than 20 µm. This revealed that the nuclear pores are nonrandomly distributed in most Drosophila tissues, in contrast to what is seen in cultured cells. Lamin Dm 0 shows a complementary localization to the nuclear pores, suggesting...