Gene switches affect different genes rather than existing as modular individual regulators.

 Groundbreaking research performed in Drosophila specimen at the university of Bonn and LMU Munich discovered that there is a certain amount of overlap in the way that gene switches work. Since most of a DNA strand are not the sequences that actually lead to the production of proteins, most of the DNA in a cell is conformed of the sequences that regulate the use and expression level of these genes. The research presented basically indicates that there is overlap between the gene sequences that act as switches that affect different genes that directly produce proteins! This has evolutionary implications by implying that the evolution of a specific gene switch can, and will affect multiple genes at once, creating even more variation. This is particularly important for some species in embryonic development, as cells start out as pluripotent and specialize through development. These developments however, happen out of gene expression, and understanding the way that gene expression functions can vary can lead to many different outcomes of the pluripotency.

I find this interesting and groundbreaking, though I will admit I cannot fully grasp it or get my head around it. I think the idea that we have the same gene activators for different gene expressions scares me more than it impresses me. Although it would not happen that way, what if multiple sequences that I need at the same time decide to not continue functioning and a different thing in my cells that needs to happen just stops? That’s just taking microbiology to a macro level though. Definitely some extremely interesting work.

https://phys.org/news/2024-10-insight-gene-naive-state-pluripotent.html#google_vignette

https://phys.org/news/2024-11-gene-results-extensive-regions-dna.html

The Stolen Gene Between the Whitefly and Plants

The stolen plant gene in the tobacco whitefly, B. tabaci, was found to have elude its host's defences in the whitefly. The first known example of natural gene transfer from a plant to an insect enables it to neutralize a toxin to defend against insects. Whiteflies are usually vulnerable to the certain toxin destroy agricultural plants all over the world which is dangerous for the crop because they take in a sugary sap from different plants while excreting honeydew that serves as a breeding ground for mould. Additionally, whiteflies are the main reason for more than 100 pathogenic plant viruses which hinders the plants' ability to produce certain nutrients. Stolen genes are common between plants and pests and have been common for over millions of years to allow for the development of defensive or offensive strategies. For example, some insects have stolen microbial genes to extract more nutrients and fight off diseases. In the tobacco whitefly, one unknown stolen gene was found to have not evolved in other insects or microbes but evolved in plants. This gene allowed for the transfer of a defensive compound called phenolic glycosides, which keeps pests off. The gene was tested between whiteflies and tomatoes found that the flies that fed on the tomatoes died, which meant that the stolen gene worked and could be beneficial in the future for crop protection. 

Cross Breeding between tomatoes

White flies can become serious pests of certain vegetable crops, such as a green house tomato plants. These flies can damage the tomato plant by removing the plants sap, which contains the plants nutrients. This leaves the plant weakened with the leaves changing color. Whiteflies take more of the sap then they need, they emit the extra as a sticky material refereed to as honeydew. The honeydew covers the surface and eventually grows mold, with this and the plants sap removed it interferes with photosynthesis. Except a wild type tomato plant has not been truly identified but thought to have some sort of particular mechanism which repels whiteflies. This plant supplies a chemical reaction which makes the plant sap stick to the flies feeding tube. Now researches state, the wild type tomato and green house tomato are closely related with domestic varieties, meaning they believe they could crossbreed them to offer a resistance against whiteflies.

It makes sense the wild type tomatoes have a genetic change associated with them because they have been dealing with the flies for many years now and should be able to in away defend themselves. The indoor plants must have lost this gene somewhere along the way, but if crossbreeding is able to produce these plants that are all resistance one day it will be beneficial. After many years of dealing with this issue it is great to maybe finding away to keep these plants healthy as much as possible.

A Women's Ex can Affect her Future Offspring

Did you know that offspring could have traits that resemble a mother’s previous sexual partner rather than the actual father? Yes, this is true- at least in flies.  Recently, Australian researchers have conducted a new study where they manipulated the size of male flies and studied their offspring. Shockingly, it was found that the size of the offspring depended on the male that the mother first mated with rather than the male that actually sired the offspring. Apparently, this effect is due to the molecules in the seminal fluid of the first mate being absorbed by the female’s immature eggs. This goes on to impact the growth of the forthcoming offspring, though the father is different. 

“Our discovery complicates our entire view of how variation is transmitted across generations but also opens up exciting new possibilities and avenues of research. Just as we think we have things figured out, nature throws us a curve ball and show us how much we still have to learn,” says Angela Crean of the University of New South Wales in Australia. During this new study, the researched raised both large and small flies by either giving them diets consisting of either high or low nutrition. From there, the female was mated with either of the two flies, then, once matured, were mated again with either of the two males and their offspring were examined. It was found that the offspring size was determined by what the mother’s earlier mating partner ate as a maggot, rather than being determined by the second male that actually was responsible for the offspring.

I find it very interesting that trait inheritance has been studied for a long time now, the field of genetics has in itself become increasing advanced through the years and it is still not completely clear. It is amazing that though not responsible for the children, a male can still be responsible for the children’s phenotypes. It will certainly be interesting to find out if this can be said for other species.

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Scientists crack genetic code of tsetse fly

 

    According to MediLexicon International's article, A 10-year project involving more than 140 scientists around the world has resulted in the successful sequencing of the genetic code of the tsetse fly "Glossina morsitans". The fly is the sole carrier of African sleeping sickness or trypanosomiasis, a disease that threatens millions of people across sub-Saharan Africa and devastates livestock. An estimated 70 million people in across sub-Saharan Africa are at risk for sleeping sickness, which occurs in two stages.

 



    The first stage of infection causes fever, headaches, aching joints and itching. The second stage, when the parasite crosses the blood-brain barrier, causes confusion, poor co-ordination and the sleep problems that give the disease its name. Without treatment, African sleeping sickness is fatal. Also, diagnosis and treatment are difficult, and require specially trained staff to administer them. And while drugs exist, they are expensive and have many undesirable side effects. In livestock, trypanosome infection causes anemia and weight loss, which can lead to death. The result is billions of dollars of livestock lost every year. Although the infection is not found in the United States, historically, it has been a serious public health problem in some regions of sub-Saharan Africa (Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan). By unraveling the genetic code of the tsetse fly, researchers have essentially produced a "parts list" of the organism. The blueprint contains codes for all the 12,000 genes that control protein activity in the fly. Giving scientists access to the blueprint is expected to speed up research into the fly's unusual biology and lead to new methods and strategies for controlling the fly.

 

 

     It is interesting to read how the tsetse fly genome comprises around 366 million letters of code, which is about one tenth of the size of the human genome. Its also unique in that unlike other flies the tsetse only gives birth to few offspring at a time, and each fly only yields a small amount of genetic material. Tsetse fly is highly unusual among insects in that they have developed unique partnerships with bacteria for several aspects of their biology, and they give birth to live young that have developed to a large size by feeding on specialised glands in the mother. It's exdrodinary how sleepiness sickness is caused by microscopic parasites of the species Trypanosoma brucei. It is hoped the genome map of the tsetse fly will help scientists understand more about evolutionary biology.

 

For more information on the parasites that cause sleeping sickness via flies, you can vist http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/our-work/medical-issues/sleeping-sickness