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By using harmonic radar, we report the complete flight paths of displaced bees. Test bees forage at a feeder or are recruited by a waggle dance indicating the feeder. The flights are recorded after the bees are captured when leaving the hive or the feeder and are released at an unexpected release site. A sequence of behavioral routines become apparent: (i ) initial straight flights in which they fly the course that they were on when captured (foraging bees) or that they learned during dance communication (recruited bees); (ii ) slow search flights with frequent changes of direction in which they attempt to ''get their bearings''; and (iii ) straight and rapid flights directed either to the hive or first to the feeding station and then to the hive. These straight homing flights start at locations all around the hive and at distances far out of the visual catchment area around the hive or the feeding station. Two essential criteria of a map-like spatial memory are met by these results: bees can set course at any arbitrary location in their familiar area, and they can choose between at least two goals. This finding suggests a rich, map-like organization of spatial memory in navigating honey bees.dance ͉ communication ͉ localization in navigation ͉ vector orientation ͉ vector map

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Multidrug resistance is a major challenge in the therapy of cancer and pathogenic fungal infections. More than three decades ago, P‐glycoprotein was the first identified multidrug transporter. It has been studied extensively at the genetic and biochemical levels ever since. Pdr5, the most abundant ATP‐binding cassette transporter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is highly homologous to azole‐resistance‐mediating multidrug transporters in fungal pathogens, and a focus of clinical drug resistance research. Despite functional equivalences, P‐glycoprotein and Pdr5 exhibit striking differences in their architecture and mechanisms. In this minireview, we discuss the mechanisms of substrate selection and multidrug transport by comparing the fraternal twins P‐glycoprotein and Pdr5. We propose that substrate selection in eukaryotic multidrug ATP‐binding cassette transporters is not solely determined by structural features of the transmembrane domains but also by their dynamic behavior.

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The human liver ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters bile salt export pump (BSEP/ABCB11) and the multidrug resistance protein 3 (MDR3/ABCB4) fulfill the translocation of bile salts and phosphatidylcholine across the apical membrane of hepatocytes. In concert with ABCG5/G8, these two transporters are responsible for the formation of bile and mutations within these transporters can lead to severe hereditary diseases. In this study, we report the heterologous overexpression and purification of human BSEP and MDR3 as well as the expression of the corresponding C-terminal GFP-fusion proteins in the yeast Pichia pastoris. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that BSEP-GFP and MDR3-GFP are localized in the plasma membrane of P. pastoris. Furthermore, we demonstrate the first purification of human BSEP and MDR3 yielding ∼1 mg and ∼6 mg per 100 g of wet cell weight, respectively. By screening over 100 detergents using a dot blot technique, we found that only zwitterionic, lipid-like detergents such as Fos-cholines or Cyclofos were able to extract both transporters in sufficient amounts for subsequent functional analysis. For MDR3, fluorescence-detection size exclusion chromatography (FSEC) screens revealed that increasing the acyl chain length of Fos-Cholines improved monodispersity. BSEP purified in n-dodecyl-β-D-maltoside or Cymal-5 after solubilization with Fos-choline 16 from P. pastoris membranes showed binding to ATP-agarose. Furthermore, detergent-solubilized and purified MDR3 showed a substrate-inducible ATPase activity upon addition of phosphatidylcholine lipids. These results form the basis for further biochemical analysis of human BSEP and MDR3 to elucidate the function of these clinically relevant ABC transporters.

No abstract

Background: A mutation of the extended X loop of MDR3 caused hereditary liver cholestasis. Results: Wild type MDR3 exhibited PC-induced ATPase activity, but the Q1174E mutant displayed no stimulation. Conclusion:The glutamine preceding the ABC signature motif communicates substrate binding within the TMD to the extended X loop of the NBD. Significance: This study provides evidence for a transmission interface coupling ATP hydrolysis to substrate transport.