Expression of the yolk-protein genes in the mutant doublesex dominant (dsxD) of Drosophila melanogaster

Development ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 241-257
Author(s):  
Mary Bownes ◽  
Maureen Dempster ◽  
Mairearad Blair
Keyword(s):  
Fat Body ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Yolk Protein ◽  
Heterozygous State ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Yolk Proteins ◽  
Transcript Levels ◽  
Yolk Protein Genes ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Fat Bodies

Adult flies mutant for doublesex dominant (dsxD) are intermediate in phenotype between males and females. The dsxD mutation acts in the heterozygous state to transform only flies with two X chromosomes into intersexes, XY flies are unaffected by the mutation. Yolkprotein synthesis, which normally occurs in the ovaries and fat bodies of females, but not in males unless stimulated with 20-hydroxy-ecdysone, is reduced. The dsxD fat body synthesizes less yolk proteins throughout adult life, and the gonads rarely make yolk proteins. Using cloned yolk-protein genes as probes for measuring transcript levels we have shown that expression of these genes in dsxD is regulated both transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally. We suggest that the dsxD locus regulates the expression of the yolk-protein genes from within the fat body cells and does not operate by modulating ecdysteroid titres in the adults.

The use of an inhibitor of protein synthesis to investigate the roles of ecdysteroids and sex-determination genes on the expression of the genes encoding the Drosophila yolk proteins

Development ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 931-941
Author(s):  
M. Bownes ◽  
A. Scott ◽  
M. Blair
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Sex Determination ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Yolk Protein ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Restrictive Temperature ◽  
Yolk Protein Genes ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
Inhibitor Of Protein Synthesis

The three yolk-protein genes of Drosophila are normally expressed only in adult female fat bodies and ovaries. 20-hydroxyecdysone can affect the transcription of these genes in males and females, as can mutations in the sex-determining genes tra, tra-2, ix and dsx. We have asked a number of basic questions about how these genes are regulated, using an inhibitor of protein synthesis (cycloheximide), labelling RNA in vivo, a temperature-sensitive sex-determination mutant (tra-2ts1), and 20-hydroxyecdysone. We have found that the yolk-protein genes are continuously transcribed in the fat bodies of adult females and that maintenance of this transcription requires protein synthesis. Hormone induction in males is also inhibited by cycloheximide, suggesting that the products of other genes are essential both for 20-hydroxyecdysone to be able to switch on the genes, and for their continuous transcription in the female fat body. The products of the tra-2 gene are also required for continuous transcription of the yolk-protein genes, suggesting that the pathway inhibited by the cycloheximide is that of the sex-determination hierarchy. 20-hydroxyecdysone can override the sex-determination system and induce yolk protein synthesis in normal males and tra-2ts reared and maintained at the restrictive temperature.

Indirect control of yolk protein genes by 20-hydroxyecdysone in the fat body of the mosquito, Aedes aegypti

1995 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirk W. Deitsch ◽  
Jeng-Shong Chen ◽  
Alexander S. Raikhel
Keyword(s):  
Aedes Aegypti ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Yolk Protein ◽  
Indirect Control ◽  
Yolk Protein Genes

scholarly journals Regulation of Drosophila yolk protein genes by an ovary-specific GATA factor.

1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 6943-6952 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Lossky ◽  
P C Wensink
Keyword(s):  
Fat Body ◽  
Regulatory Element ◽  
Ovarian Follicle ◽  
In Vitro Transcription ◽  
Yolk Protein ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Gata Factor ◽  
Yolk Protein Genes

The divergently transcribed yolk protein genes (Yp1 and Yp2) of Drosophila melanogaster are expressed only in adult females, in fat body tissue and in ovarian follicle cells. Using an in vitro transcription assay, we have identified a single 12-bp DNA element that activates transcription from the promoters of both Yp genes. In vivo, this regulatory element is tissue specific: it activates transcription of Yp1 and Yp2 reporter genes in follicle cells but has no detectable effect in fat body or other tissues. The sequence of the element consists of two recognition sites for the GATA family of transcription factors. We show that among the Drosophila genes known to encode GATA factors, only dGATAb is expressed in ovaries. The single transcript that we detect in ovaries is alternatively spliced or initiated to produce an ovary-specific isoform of the protein. Bacterially expressed dGATAb binds to the 12-bp element; a similar binding activity is also present in the Kc0 nuclear extracts used for in vitro transcription assays. These in vitro and in vivo results lead us to propose that dGATAb makes several developmentally regulated products, one of which is a follicle cell-specific protein activating transcription of Yp1 and Yp2 from a known regulatory element.

The Influence of Diet, Age and State of Hydration on Na+, K+ and Urate Balance in the Fat Body of the Cockroach Periplaneta Americana

1977 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-79
Author(s):  
LOIS E. TUCKER
Keyword(s):  
Periplaneta Americana ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Body Tissue ◽  
Unit Weight ◽  
Casein Diet ◽  
Cellular Inclusions ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
K Concentration ◽  
The Relationship

The effect of diet, age, sex and state of hydration on the relationship between Na+, K+ and urate in the fat body tissue of the cockroach Periplaneta americana has been investigated. There is a significant correlation between K+ and urate concentrations in the fat bodies of both males and females in late nymphal and adult stages. Animals fed on a dextrin/casein diet, which had a K+ content of about one-third that of the rat pellets normally used for food, had a lower than normal K+/urate ratio. In both the normally fed and dextrin/casein-fed groups of animals, dehydration caused a decrease in the K+/urate ratio. Dehydration (and starvation) caused an increase in the amount of urate per unit weight of fat body. Some of the urate in the fat body is present in small spherical cellular inclusions. There is also a correlation between the K+ concentration and the number of spherules. The ratio of spherules/urate is significantly higher in hydrated animals than in dehydrated ones.

scholarly journals Hormones and Sex-Specific Transcription Factors Jointly Control Yolk Protein Synthesis in Musca domestica

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Siegenthaler ◽  
Peter Maroy ◽  
Monika Hediger ◽  
Andreas Dübendorfer ◽  
Daniel Bopp
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Musca Domestica ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Yolk Protein ◽  
Yolk Proteins

In the housefly Musca domestica, synthesis of yolk proteins (YPs) depends on the level of circulating ecdysteroid hormones. In female houseflies, the ecdysterone concentration in the hemolymph oscillates and, at high levels, is followed by expression of YP. In male houseflies, the ecdysterone titre is constantly low and no YP is produced. In some strains, which are mutant in key components of the sex-determining pathway, males express YP even though their ecdysterone titre is not significantly elevated. However, we find that these males express a substantial amount of the female variant of the Musca doublesex homologue, Md-dsx. The dsx gene is known to sex-specifically control transcription of yp genes in the fat body of Drosophila melanogaster. Our data suggest that Md-dsx also contributes to the regulation of YP expression in the housefly by modulating the responsiveness of YP-producing cells to hormonal stimuli.

Reproductive tactics of Ameiva ameiva (Lacertilia: Teiidae) in a seasonally fluctuating tropical habitat

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (12) ◽  
pp. 3113-3120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie J. Vitt
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Reproductive Activity ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Northeast Brazil ◽  
Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
Fat Body Mass

The reproductive ecology of Ameiva ameiva was studied for 12 months in a caatinga habitat of northeast Brazil. Even though rainfall was seasonal, the female reproductive cycle was not associated with this seasonality. Females reproduced year-round, with peak reproductive periods during August–October and January–February. Clutch size ranged from one to nine and was correlated to female size but egg size was constant. Males showed evidence of reproductive activity throughout the year. Fat body mass of males and females varied greatly among individuals. There was no association between fat storage and wet–dry seasonality. In females, fat body mass tended to decrease during peak reproductive periods. Most striking was the observation that 97.8% of all adult Ameiva possessed enlarged fat bodies, suggesting that resource periods low enough to affect reproduction did not exist during 1977–1978. The reproductive tactics of Ameiva were similar to those of other tropical macroteiids, regardless of their distribution, but very different than reproductive tactics of sympatric iguanid lizards. Compared with iguanid lizards, resources may be less limiting for macroteiids because their widely foraging behavior for prey acquisition may allow them to find rich patches of resources which would be unavailable to habitat specific sit-and-wait foragers, like most iguanid lizards.

Cis-regulatory sequences leading to female-specific expression of yolk protein genes 1 and 2 in the fat body of Drosophila melanogaster

1993 ◽  
Vol 237-237 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Abrahamsen ◽  
Alberto Martinez ◽  
Torben Kjær ◽  
Leif Søndergaard ◽  
Mary Bownes
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Yolk Protein ◽  
Regulatory Sequences ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Yolk Protein Genes ◽  
Female Specific

‘I saw a knock-out’: Fatness, (In)visibility, and Desire in Shallow Hal

Somatechnics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackie Wykes
Keyword(s):  
Female Body ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Western Culture ◽  
Embodied Experience ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
Dominant Meaning ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Female Bodies ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
Sexual Body

When the Farrelly brothers' movie Shallow Hal (2001) was released, one reviewer suggested that the film ‘might have been more honest if [it] had simply made Hal have a thing about fat women’ ( Kerr 2002 : 44). In this paper, I argue that Kerr hits the mark but misses the point. While the film's treatment of fat is undoubtedly problematic, I propose a ‘queer’ reading of the film, borrowing the idea of ‘double coding’ to show a text about desire for fat (female) bodies. I am not, however, seeking to position Shallow Hal as a fat-positive text; rather, I use it as a starting point to explore the legibility of the fat female body as a sexual body. In contemporary mainstream Western culture, fat is regarded as the antithesis of desire. This meaning is so deeply ingrained that representations of fat women as sexual are typically framed as a joke because desire for fat bodies is unimaginable; this is the logic by which Shallow Hal operates. The dominant meaning of fatness precludes recognition of the fat body as a sexual body. What is at issue is therefore not simply the lack of certain images, but a question of intelligibility: if the meaning of fat is antithetical to desire, how can the desire for – and of – fat bodies be intelligible as desire? This question goes beyond the realm of representation and into the embodied experience of fat sexuality.

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