Developmental effects of a chimeric ultraspiracle gene derived from Drosophila and Chironomus.

Functional characterization of two Ultraspiracle forms (CtUSP-1 and CtUSP-2) from Chironomus tentans.

Two forms, CtUSP-1 and CtUSP-2, of the Chironomus tentans homolog of Ultraspiracle (new nomenclature: Chironomus NR2B4) were described and verified as components of the functional ecdysteroid receptor. The two forms differed from each other in the most N-terminal regions of the A/B domain and were tested for several properties. Both forms showed the ability to heterodimerize with CtEcR and inte...

Developmental genetics of the 2C-D region of the Drosophila X chromosome.

We have conducted a genetic and developmental analysis of genes within the 2C-D area of the X chromosome. Phenotypes of 33 mutations representing nine adjacent complementation groups including eight recessive lethals and one visible homeotic mutation (polyhomeotic) are described. Germline clonal analysis of the eight zygotic lethals has revealed three types of gene requirements: normal activity...

Aconitase and Developmental EndPointsasEarly IndicatorsofCellularToxicity Induced by Xenobiotics in Drosophila Melanogaster

Background: In this study, the toxicity of the different xenobiotics was tested on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster model system.  Methods: Fly larvae were raised on food supplemented with xenobioticsat different concentrations (sodium nitroprusside (0.1-1.5 mM), S-nitrosoglutathione (0.5-4 mM), and potassium ferrocyanide (1 mM)). Emergence of flies, food intake by larvae, and pupation h...

Developmental Competence and Pluripotency Gene Expression of Cattle Cloned Embryos Derived from Donor Cells Treated with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine

Functional studies on the ligand-binding domain of Ultraspiracle from Drosophila melanogaster.

The functional insect ecdysteroid receptor is comprised of the ecdysone receptor (EcR) and Ultraspiracle (USP). The ligand-binding domain (LBD) of USP was fused to the GAL4 DNA-binding domain (GAL4-DBD) and characterized by analyzing the effect of site-directed mutations in the LBD. Normal and mutant proteins were tested for ligand and DNA binding, dimerization, and their ability to induce gene...