Revisiting the developmental and cellular role of the pigmentation gene yellow in Drosophila using a tagged allele.

Pigmentation is a diverse and ecologically relevant trait in insects. Pigment formation has been studied extensively at the genetic and biochemical levels. The temporality of pigment formation during animal development, however, is more elusive. Here, we examine this temporality, focusing on yellow, a gene involved in the formation of black melanin. We generated a protein-tagged yellow allele in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which allowed us to precisely describe Yellow expression pattern at the tissue and cellular levels throughout development. We found Yellow expressed in the pupal epidermis in patterns prefiguring black pigmentation. We also found Yellow expressed in a few central neurons from the second larval instar to adult stages, including a subset of neurons adjacent to the clock neurons marked by the gene Pdf. We then specifically examined the dynamics of Yellow expression domain and subcellular localization in relationship to pigment formation. In particular, we showed how a late step of re-internalization is regulated by the large low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein Megalin. Finally we suggest a new function for Yellow in the establishment of sharp pigmentation pattern boundaries, whereby this protein may assume a structural role, anchoring pigment deposits or pigmentation enzymes in the cuticle.

Assessing the Effects of Amoxicillin on Antioxidant Enzyme Activities, Lipid Peroxidation and Protein Carbonyl Content in the Clam Ruditapes philippinarum and the Mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis.

In this study, we evaluated the capability of amoxicillin (AMX)-one of the most widely used antibiotics worldwide-to induce oxidative stress in both gills and digestive gland from two bivalve species, the clam Ruditapes philippinarum and the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, as well as the lipid peroxidation levels (LPO) and protein carbonyl content (PCC), were measured in bivalves exposed to 100, 200 and 400 µg AMX/L for 1, 3 and 7 days. The results obtained demonstrated that AMX affected slightly biomarker responses of molluscs.

A timer gene network is spatially regulated by the terminal system in the Drosophila embryo.

In insect embryos, anteroposterior patterning is coordinated by the sequential expression of the 'timer' genes caudal, Dichaete, and odd-paired, whose expression dynamics correlate with the mode of segmentation. In Drosophila, the timer genes are expressed broadly across much of the blastoderm, which segments simultaneously, but their expression is delayed in a small 'tail' region, just anterior to the hindgut, which segments during germband extension. Specification of the tail and the hindgut depends on the terminal gap gene tailless, but beyond this the regulation of the timer genes is poorly understood. We used a combination of multiplexed imaging, mutant analysis, and gene network modelling to resolve the regulation of the timer genes, identifying 11 new regulatory interactions and clarifying the mechanism of posterior terminal patterning. We propose that a dynamic Tailless expression gradient modulates the intrinsic dynamics of a timer gene cross-regulatory module, delineating the tail region and delaying its developmental maturation.

Does the antibiotic amoxicillin affect haemocyte parameters in non-target aquatic invertebrates? The clam Ruditapes philippinarum and the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis as model organisms.

Amoxicillin (AMX) is one of the most widely used antibiotics worldwide, and its levels in aquatic ecosystems are expected to be detectable. At present, information concerning the toxic effects of AMX on non-target aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, is scarce. Consequently, in this study, we investigated for the first time the effects of AMX on the haemocyte parameters of two bivalve species, the clam Ruditapes philippinarum and the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, which share the same habitat in the Lagoon of Venice, in order to compare the relative sensitivity of the two species. The bivalves were exposed to 100, 200 and 400 µg AMX/L for 1, 3 and 7 days, and the effects on the total haemocyte count (THC), the diameter and volume of the haemocytes, haemocyte proliferation, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in cell-free haemolymph, the haemolymph pH, and the formation of micronuclei were evaluated. The actual concentrations of AMX in the seawater samples from the experimental tanks were also measured. Overall, the obtained results demonstrated that AMX affected slightly the haemocyte parameters of bivalves. In addition, no clear differences in terms of sensitivity to AMX exposure were recorded between the two bivalve species.