Summary Sleep:wake cycles break down with age, but the causes of this degeneration are not clear. Using a Drosophila model we addressed the contribution of circadian mechanisms to this aged-induced deterioration. We found that in old flies free-running circadian rhythms (behavioral rhythms assayed in constant darkness) have a longer period and an unstable phase before they eventually degenerate. Surprisingly, rhythms are weaker in light:dark cycles and the circadian-regulated morning peak of activity is diminished under these conditions. On a molecular level, aging results in reduced amplitude of circadian clock gene expression in peripheral tissues. However, oscillations of the clock protein PERIOD (PER) are robust and synchronized among different clock neurons, even in very old, arrhythmic flies. To improve rhythms in old flies, we manipulated environmental conditions, which can have direct effects on behavior, and also tested a role for molecules that act downstream of the clock. Coupling temperature cycles with a light:dark schedule or reducing expression of protein kinase A (PKA) improved behavioral rhythms and consolidated sleep. Our data demonstrate that a robust molecular time-keeping mechanism persists in the central pacemaker of aged flies, and reducing PKA can strengthen behavioral rhythms.
Summary Although molecular components of the circadian clock are known, mechanisms that transmit signals from the clock and produce rhythmic behavior are poorly understood. We found through a genetic screen that over-expression of microRNA miR-279 disrupts rest:activity rhythms in Drosophila. Deletion of miR-279 also attenuates rhythms, which are rescued by a miR-279 transgene. Oscillations of the clock protein PERIOD are normal in pacemaker neurons of miR-279 nulls, suggesting that miR-279 acts downstream of the clock. Through an RNAi screen of putative miR-279 targets, we identified circadian effects of the JAK/STAT ligand, upd, and show that knockdown of upd rescues the behavioral phenotype of miR-279 mutants. Manipulations of the JAK/STAT pathway also disrupt behavioral rhythms. Furthermore, JAK/STAT signaling is regulated by the clock, and central clock neurons appear to project to upd-expressing cells. These findings identify a circadian output pathway in which JAK/STAT signaling is regulated by miR-279 to drive rest:activity rhythms.
Ammonium is a preferred source of nitrogen for plants but is toxic at high levels. Plant ammonium transporters (AMTs) play an essential role in NH 4 + uptake, but the mechanism by which AMTs are regulated remains unclear. To study how AMTs are regulated in the presence of ammonium, we used variable-angle total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence crosscorrelation spectroscopy for single-particle fluorescence imaging of EGFP-tagged AMT1;3 on the plasma membrane of Arabidopsis root cells at various ammonium levels. We demonstrated that AMT1;3-EGFP dynamically appeared and disappeared on the plasma membrane as moving fluorescent spots in low oligomeric states under N-deprived and N-sufficient conditions. Under external high-ammonium stress, however, AMT1;3-EGFPs were found to amass into clusters, which were then internalized into the cytoplasm. A similar phenomenon also occurred in the glutamine synthetase mutant gln1;2 background. Single-particle analysis of AMT1;3-EGFPs in the clathrin heavy chain 2 mutant (chc2 mutant) and Flotllin1 artificial microRNA (Flot1 amiRNA) backgrounds, together with chemical inhibitor treatments, demonstrated that the endocytosis of AMT1;3 clusters induced by high-ammonium stress could occur mainly through clathrin-mediated endocytic pathways, but the contribution of microdomain-associated endocytic pathway cannot be excluded in the internalization. Our results revealed that the clustering and endocytosis of AMT1;3 provides an effective mechanism by which plant cells can avoid accumulation of toxic levels of ammonium by eliminating active AMT1;3 from the plasma membrane. VA-TIRFM | FCSA mmonium (NH 4 + ) and nitrate (NO 3 − ) are the primary sources of nitrogen (N) for most plants growing in agricultural soils. Ammonium assimilation requires less energy than nitrate assimilation, and, thus, ammonium is absorbed preferentially when plants are N-deficient. However, high concentrations of ammonium can be toxic (1); therefore, ammonia absorption and metabolism must be strictly controlled. Understanding the mechanisms by which plant cells regulate ammonium uptake and translocation is of critical importance for agricultural improvements in N-use efficiency and avoiding ammonium toxicity.Evidence suggests that membrane ammonium transporters (AMTs) act in NH 4 + uptake into plant cells, serving as the major transporters for high-affinity ammonium uptake (2). In Arabidopsis thaliana, the AMT family comprises six isoforms, of which three (AtAMT1;1, AtAMT1;2, and AtAMT1;3) are responsible for about 90% of the total high-affinity N uptake in roots (3). AMT gene expression in Arabidopsis roots is generally repressed by high N and induced by N deficiency (4). In addition to transcriptional mechanisms, regulation of membrane transporter activity is also involved in the plant's responses to changing nutrient supplies (1). Although posttranscriptional regulation of AMT appears to be N-dependent (5), the question of how ammonium regulates AMT transporter activity, particularly t...
Filling in the gap: Label‐free, real‐time electrical detection of proteins is achieved with high selectivity and real single‐molecule sensitivity by using aptamer‐functionalized molecular electronic devices with single‐walled carbon nanotubes as point contacts.
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