Sex and clonality in the little fire ant

Reproduction systems are controlling the creation of new genetic variants as well as how natural selection can operate on these variants. Therefore, they had historically been one of the main foci of evolutionary biology studies. The little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, has been found to display an extraordinary reproduction system, in which both males and female queens are produced clonally. So far, native sexual populations of W. auropunctata have not been identified. Our goals were to identify such sexual populations and investigate the origins of female parthenogenesis and male clonality. Using mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers in 17 native populations, we found that traditional sexual populations occurred in W. auropunctata and are likely the recent source of neighboring clonal populations. Queen parthenogenesis has probably evolved several times through mutational events. Male clonality is tightly linked to queen parthenogenesis and thus appears to be female controlled. Its origin could be accounted for by 2 mutually exclusive hypotheses: either by the expected coevolution of the 2 sexes (i.e., a variant of the maternal genome elimination hypothesis) or by a shared mechanistic origin (i.e., by the production of anucleate ovules by parthenogenetic queens). Our results also show that W. auropunctata males and females do not form separate evolutionary units and are unlikely to be engaged in an all-out battle of sexes. This work opens up new perspectives for studies on the adaptive significance and evolutionary stability of mixed sexual and clonal reproduction systems in living organisms.     

Unadapted behaviour of native,dominant ant species during the colonization of an aggressive,invasive ant

Among the factors driving the invasive success of non-indigenous species, the “escape opportunity” or “enemy release” hypothesis argues that an invader’s success may result partly from less resistance from the new competitors found in its introduced range. In this study, we examined competitive interactions between the little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) and ant species of the genus Pheidole in places where both are native (French Guiana) and in places where only species of Pheidole are native (New Caledonia). The experimental introduction of W. auropunctata at food resources monopolized by the Pheidole species induced the recruitment of major workers only for the Guianian Pheidole species, which were very effective at killing Wasmannia competitors. In contrast, an overall decrease in the number of Pheidole workers and no recruitment of major workers were observed for the New Caledonian species, although the latter were the only ones able to kill the Wasmannia workers. These results emphasize the inappropriate response of native dominant New Caledonian species to W. auropunctata and, thus, the importance of enemy recognition and specification in the organization of ant communities. This factor could explain how invasive animal species, particularly ants, may be able to successfully invade species-rich communities.     

Rab6 and the secretory pathway affect oocyte polarity in Drosophila

The Drosophila oocyte is a highly polarized cell. Secretion occurs towards restricted neighboring cells and asymmetric transport controls the localization of several mRNAs to distinct cortical compartments. Here, we describe a role for the Drosophila ortholog of the Rab6 GTPase, Drab6, in establishing cell polarity during oogenesis. We found that Drab6 localizes to Golgi and Golgi-derived membranes and interacts with BicD. We also provide evidence that Drab6 and BicD function together to ensure the correct delivery of secretory pathway components, such as the TGFalpha homolog Gurken, to the plasma membrane. Moreover, in the absence of Drab6, osk mRNA localization and the organization of microtubule plus-ends at the posterior of the oocyte were both severely affected. Our results point to a possible connection between Rab protein-mediated secretion, organization of the cytoskeleton and mRNA transport.     

Drosophila ASPP regulates C-terminal Src kinase activity

Src-family kinases (SFKs) control a variety of biological processes, from cell proliferation and differentiation to cytoskeletal rearrangements. Abnormal activation of SFKs has been implicated in a wide variety of cancers and is associated with metastatic behavior (Yeatman, 2004). SFKs are maintained in an inactive state by inhibitory phosphorylation of their C-terminal region by C-terminal Src kinase (Csk). We have identified Drosophila Ankyrin-repeat, SH3-domain, and Proline-rich-region containing Protein (dASPP) as a regulator of Drosophila Csk (dCsk) activity. dASPP is the homolog of the mammalian ASPP proteins, which are known to bind to and stimulate the proapoptotic function of p53. We show that dASPP is a positive regulator of dCsk. First, dASPP loss-of-function strongly enhances the specific phenotypes of dCsk mutants in wing epithelial cells. Second, dASPP interacts physically with dCsk to potentiate the inhibitory phosphorylation of Drosophila Src (dSrc). Our results suggest a role for dASPP in maintaining epithelial integrity through dCsk regulation.     

Draft Genome Sequence of Kazachstania bovina Yeast Isolated from Human Infection

Mycopathologia - Kazachstania bovina is a yeast species from the K. telluris complex that has been recently involved in bloodstream infections. While yeast genomes from this complex have already...     

BioJazz: in silico evolution of cellular networks with unbounded complexity using rule-based modeling

Systems biologists aim to decipher the structure and dynamics of signaling and regulatory networks underpinning cellular responses; synthetic biologists can use this insight to alter existing networks or engineer de novo ones. Both tasks will benefit from an understanding of which structural and dynamic features of networks can emerge from evolutionary processes, through which intermediary steps these arise, and whether they embody general design principles. As natural evolution at the level of network dynamics is difficult to study, in silico evolution of network models can provide important insights. However, current tools used for in silico evolution of network dynamics are limited to ad hoc computer simulations and models. Here we introduce BioJazz, an extendable, user-friendly tool for simulating the evolution of dynamic biochemical networks. Unlike previous tools for in silico evolution, BioJazz allows for the evolution of cellular networks with unbounded complexity by combining rule-based modeling with an encoding of networks that is akin to a genome. We show that BioJazz can be used to implement biologically realistic selective pressures and allows exploration of the space of network architectures and dynamics that implement prescribed physiological functions. BioJazz is provided as an open-source tool to facilitate its further development and use. Source code and user manuals are available at: http://oss-lab.github.io/biojazz and http://osslab.lifesci.warwick.ac.uk/BioJazz.aspx.