scholarly journals Identification of approximate symmetries in biological development

2021 ◽  
Vol 379 (2213) ◽  
Author(s):  
Punit Gandhi ◽  
Maria-Veronica Ciocanel ◽  
Karl Niklas ◽  
Adriana T. Dawes
Keyword(s):  
Biological Systems ◽  
Approximate Symmetries ◽  
Alternative Measures ◽  
Manual Processing ◽  
Biological Development ◽  
Multicellular Organisms ◽  
Measures Of Symmetry ◽  
Biological Image ◽  
Mathematics And Physics

Virtually all forms of life, from single-cell eukaryotes to complex, highly differentiated multicellular organisms, exhibit a property referred to as symmetry. However, precise measures of symmetry are often difficult to formulate and apply in a meaningful way to biological systems, where symmetries and asymmetries can be dynamic and transient, or be visually apparent but not reliably quantifiable using standard measures from mathematics and physics. Here, we present and illustrate a novel measure that draws on concepts from information theory to quantify the degree of symmetry, enabling the identification of approximate symmetries that may be present in a pattern or a biological image. We apply the measure to rotation, reflection and translation symmetries in patterns produced by a Turing model, as well as natural objects (algae, flowers and leaves). This method of symmetry quantification is unbiased and rigorous, and requires minimal manual processing compared to alternative measures. The proposed method is therefore a useful tool for comparison and identification of symmetries in biological systems, with potential future applications to symmetries that arise during development, as observed in vivo or as produced by mathematical models. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Recent progress and open frontiers in Turing’s theory of morphogenesis’.

Development of Synchrotron Footprinting at NSLS and NSLS-II

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jen Bohon
Keyword(s):  
Solvent Accessibility ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Aqueous Samples ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Macromolecular Assembly ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
Synchrotron Light ◽  
Ideal Technique

Background: First developed in the 1990’s at the National Synchrotron Light Source, xray synchrotron footprinting is an ideal technique for the analysis of solution-state structure and dynamics of macromolecules. Hydroxyl radicals generated in aqueous samples by intense x-ray beams serve as fine probes of solvent accessibility, rapidly and irreversibly reacting with solvent exposed residues to provide a “snapshot” of the sample state at the time of exposure. Over the last few decades, improvements in instrumentation to expand the technology have continuously pushed the boundaries of biological systems that can be studied using the technique. Conclusion: Dedicated synchrotron beamlines provide important resources for examining fundamental biological mechanisms of folding, ligand binding, catalysis, transcription, translation, and macromolecular assembly. The legacy of synchrotron footprinting at NSLS has led to significant improvement in our understanding of many biological systems, from identifying key structural components in enzymes and transporters to in vivo studies of ribosome assembly. This work continues at the XFP (17-BM) beamline at NSLS-II and facilities at ALS, which are currently accepting proposals for use.

scholarly journals Where and Why Modeling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 3977
Author(s):  
Francesco Liguori ◽  
Susanna Amadio ◽  
Cinzia Volonté
Keyword(s):  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Clinical Presentation ◽  
In Vivo Models ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Common Features ◽  
Neuroinflammatory Disease ◽  
Multicellular Organisms ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

Over the years, researchers have leveraged a host of different in vivo models in order to dissect amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative/neuroinflammatory disease that is heterogeneous in its clinical presentation and is multigenic, multifactorial and non-cell autonomous. These models include both vertebrates and invertebrates such as yeast, worms, flies, zebrafish, mice, rats, guinea pigs, dogs and, more recently, non-human primates. Despite their obvious differences and peculiarities, only the concurrent and comparative analysis of these various systems will allow the untangling of the causes and mechanisms of ALS for finally obtaining new efficacious therapeutics. However, harnessing these powerful organisms poses numerous challenges. In this context, we present here an updated and comprehensive review of how eukaryotic unicellular and multicellular organisms that reproduce a few of the main clinical features of the disease have helped in ALS research to dissect the pathological pathways of the disease insurgence and progression. We describe common features as well as discrepancies among these models, highlighting new insights and emerging roles for experimental organisms in ALS.

Lowest aqueous picomolar fluoride ions and in vivo aluminum toxicity detection by an aluminum(iii) binding chemosensor

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monojit Das ◽  
Debdeep Maity ◽  
Tusar Kanta Acharya ◽  
Sudip Sau ◽  
Chandan Giri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Detection Limit ◽  
Aluminum Toxicity ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Fluoride Ions ◽  
Toxicity Effect

A water-soluble PET-based chemosensor is developed which can detect Al(iii) and F− ions up to nano- and picomolar (lowest detection so far) detection limit, respectively, also utilized to establish aluminum-toxicity effect in biological systems.

scholarly journals Unconventional Translation Initiation Factor EIF2A is required for Drosophila spermatogenesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D Lowe ◽  
Denise Montell
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Initiation Factor ◽  
Male Sterile ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Transposon Insertion ◽  
Stress Related Genes ◽  
Male Specific ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

The eukaryotic initiation factor EIF2A is an unconventional translation factor required for initiation of protein synthesis from non-AUG codons from a variety of transcripts, including oncogenes and stress related genes in mammalian cells. Its function in multicellular organisms has not been reported. Here, we identify and characterize mutant alleles of the CG7414 gene, which encodes the Drosophila EIF2A ortholog. We identified that CG7414 undergoes sex-specific splicing that regulates its male-specific expression. We characterized a Mi{Mic} transposon insertion that disrupts the coding regions of all predicted isoforms and is a genetic null allele, and a PBac transposon insertion into an intron, which is a hypomorph. The Mi{Mic} allele is homozygous lethal, while the viable progeny from the hypomorphic PiggyBac allele are male sterile and female fertile. In dEIF2A mutant flies, sperm failed to individualize due to defects in F-actin cones and failure to form and maintain cystic bulges, ultimately leading to sterility. These results demonstrate that EIF2A is essential in a multicellular organism, both for normal development and spermatogenesis, and provide an entree into the elucidation of the role of EIF2A and unconventional translation in vivo.

scholarly journals Supervised Learning Model Predicts Protein Adsorption to Nanotubes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L Pinals ◽  
Nicholas Ouassil ◽  
Jackson Travis Del Bonis-O'Donnell ◽  
Jeffrey W Wang ◽  
Markita P Landry
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Protein Adsorption ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Protein Corona ◽  
Engineered Nanoparticles ◽  
Mass Spectrometry Data ◽  
In Vitro Synthesis ◽  
Intractable Problem

Engineered nanoparticles are advantageous for numerous biotechnology applications, including biomolecular sensing and delivery. However, testing the compatibility and function of nanotechnologies in biological systems requires a heuristic approach, where unpredictable biofouling often prevents effective implementation. Such biofouling is the result of spontaneous protein adsorption to the nanoparticle surface, forming the "protein corona" and altering the physicochemical properties, and thus intended function, of the nanotechnology. To better apply engineered nanoparticles in biological systems, herein, we develop a random forest classifier (RFC) trained with proteomic mass spectrometry data that identifies which proteins adsorb to nanoparticles. We model proteins that populate the corona of a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-based optical nanosensor. We optimize the classifier and characterize the classifier performance against other models. To evaluate the predictive power of our model, we then apply the classifier to rapidly identify and experimentally validate proteins with high binding affinity to SWCNTs. Using protein properties based solely on amino acid sequence, we further determine protein features associated with increased likelihood of SWCNT binding: proteins with high content of solvent-exposed glycine residues and non-secondary structure-associated amino acids. Furthermore, proteins with high leucine residue content and beta-sheet-associated amino acids are less likely to form the SWCNT protein corona. The classifier presented herein provides an important tool to undertake the otherwise intractable problem of predicting protein-nanoparticle interactions, which is needed for more rapid and effective translation of nanobiotechnologies from in vitro synthesis to in vivo use.

scholarly journals In vivotissue-specific chromatin profiling inDrosophila melanogasterusing GFP-tagged nuclei

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Jauregui-Lozano ◽  
Kimaya Bakhle ◽  
Vikki M. Weake
Keyword(s):  
Cell Types ◽  
Chromatin Accessibility ◽  
Chromatin State ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Histone Marks ◽  
The Many ◽  
Chromatin Profiling ◽  
Photoreceptor Neurons ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

AbstractThe chromatin landscape defines cellular identity in multicellular organisms with unique patterns of DNA accessibility and histone marks decorating the genome of each cell type. Thus, profiling the chromatin state of different cell types in an intact organism under disease or physiological conditions can provide insight into how chromatin regulates cell homeostasisin vivo. To overcome the many challenges associated with characterizing chromatin state in specific cell types, we developed an improved approach to isolateDrosophilanuclei tagged with GFP expressed under Gal4/UAS control. Using this protocol, we profiled chromatin accessibility using Omni-ATAC, and examined the distribution of histone marks using ChIP-seq and CUT&Tag in adult photoreceptor neurons. We show that the chromatin landscape of photoreceptors reflects the transcriptional state of these cells, demonstrating the quality and reproducibility of our approach for profiling the transcriptome and epigenome of specific cell types inDrosophila.

N.m.r. imaging of intact biological systems

1980 ◽  
Vol 289 (1037) ◽  
pp. 471-481 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Systems ◽  
Relaxation Times ◽  
Heterogeneous Systems ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Acquisition Time ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Tissue Discrimination ◽  
Structured Objects ◽  
Ionizing Radiations

Internal images of structured objects may be obtained with n.m.r. by labelling component parts with different magnetic field strengths and therefore recognizably different n.m.r. frequencies. A linear field gradient generates a one-dimensional projection of nuclear density and a variety of techniques are employed to manipulate this one-dimensional probe to yield internal images in two and three dimensions. In the past few years, n.m.r. imaging, sometimes also called zeugmatography or spin mapping, has been applied progressively to provide proton images of small phantoms, fruit, vegetables and small animals, and finally to in vivo imaging of the human body; it promises to provide a valuable means of interior investigation of intact biological systems generally. For medical imaging the method is non-invasive, does not use ionizing radiations, appears to be without hazard and penetrates bony cavities without attenuation. Furthermore, other n.m.r. parameters, for example, relaxation times and fluid flow, may also be mapped; there is evidence that the relaxation times from tumours are significantly longer than those from corresponding normal tissue. Effort to date has mostly been concentrated on proton n.m.r., but some work has been done with other nuclei. Three examples are shown of n.m.r. images of intact biological systems: a fruit, an animal and a human system. The discussion includes the quantitative nature of the images, tissue discrimination, the relation between resolution in the image and image acquisition time, attenuation and phase shift of the r.f. field in the biological tissue, and magnets suitable for n.m.r. imaging. In principle, all conventional n.m.r. techniques can be combined with n.m.r. imaging methods in order to investigate heterogeneous systems. Overhauser imaging is briefly discussed.

scholarly journals Microtubule-dependent ribosome localization in C. elegans neurons

eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kentaro Noma ◽  
Alexandr Goncharov ◽  
Mark H Ellisman ◽  
Yishi Jin
Keyword(s):  
Cell Biology ◽  
Neuronal Development ◽  
Ultrastructural Level ◽  
Synthesis Methods ◽  
Tissue Specific ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Multicellular Organisms ◽  
Axonal Trafficking ◽  
Insight Into

Subcellular localization of ribosomes defines the location and capacity for protein synthesis. Methods for in vivo visualizing ribosomes in multicellular organisms are desirable in mechanistic investigations of the cell biology of ribosome dynamics. Here, we developed an approach using split GFP for tissue-specific visualization of ribosomes in Caenorhabditis elegans. Labeled ribosomes are detected as fluorescent puncta in the axons and synaptic terminals of specific neuron types, correlating with ribosome distribution at the ultrastructural level. We found that axonal ribosomes change localization during neuronal development and after axonal injury. By examining mutants affecting axonal trafficking and performing a forward genetic screen, we showed that the microtubule cytoskeleton and the JIP3 protein UNC-16 exert distinct effects on localization of axonal and somatic ribosomes. Our data demonstrate the utility of tissue-specific visualization of ribosomes in vivo, and provide insight into the mechanisms of active regulation of ribosome localization in neurons.

scholarly journals Nanobiohybrids: Materials approaches for bioaugmentation

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. eaaz0330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziyi Guo ◽  
Joseph J. Richardson ◽  
Biao Kong ◽  
Kang Liang
Keyword(s):  
Biological Systems ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Processing Technologies ◽  
Materials Engineering ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Multicellular Organisms ◽  
Critical Overview ◽  
And Robotics

Nanobiohybrids, synthesized by integrating functional nanomaterials with living systems, have emerged as an exciting branch of research at the interface of materials engineering and biological science. Nanobiohybrids use synthetic nanomaterials to impart organisms with emergent properties outside their scope of evolution. Consequently, they endow new or augmented properties that are either innate or exogenous, such as enhanced tolerance against stress, programmed metabolism and proliferation, artificial photosynthesis, or conductivity. Advances in new materials design and processing technologies made it possible to tailor the physicochemical properties of the nanomaterials coupled with the biological systems. To date, many different types of nanomaterials have been integrated with various biological systems from simple biomolecules to complex multicellular organisms. Here, we provide a critical overview of recent developments of nanobiohybrids that enable new or augmented biological functions that show promise in high-tech applications across many disciplines, including energy harvesting, biocatalysis, biosensing, medicine, and robotics.

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