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Mar 2024 DOI 10.14302/issn.2689-4602.jes-24-4956
Chadov B.F.Corresponding author
A new type of mutations-dominant lethals with a facultative manifestation -were discovered in D. melanogaster in 2000. These mutations were named conditional mutations. Under restrictive genetic conditions, the mutations manifest themselves as dominant lethals, whereas dominant lethality disappears under permissive conditions, displaying a set of other manifestations. The genes responsible for the emergence of conditional mutations were named ontogenes. The experiments with mutations in ontogenes have revealed the following processes: (1) genome editing in germline cells; (2) induction of high mutagenesis rates in germline cells of the mutants for ontogenes; (3) zygotic selection; (4) isolation of mutants; and (5) alterations in the lethality of mutants with time. The specific features in the manifestation of ontogenes together with the listed processes formed the background for construction of the model of speciation named the regeneration model. The event of speciation is represented as the regeneration of the working state of a genetic system disturbed by the emergence of a mutation in an ontogene. According to the model, it is ontogenes that are in charge of speciation and, eventually, the structure of living matter in the form of individual species. The significance of Mendelian protein-coding genes and Darwinian selection of the fittest according to these genes are doubtless but not paramount.
Nov 2021 DOI 10.14302/issn.2641-4538.jphi-21-3993
Adenike Adeyemo-Salami OluwatoyinCorresponding author
Nutritional and Industrial Biochemistry Unit, Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Chlorogenic acid (CA), abundantly found in green coffee beans, is a phenolic compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties amongst others. Exposure to rotenone, a natural pesticide, induces Parkinsonism (a type of neurodegeneration) through the induction of mitochondria dysfunction and oxidative stress. Phytochemicals with antioxidant properties may be promising in attenuating this condition. In this research, the ameliorative role of CA on rotenone-induced toxicity in Drosophila melanogaster was evaluated. Drosophila melanogaster (Harwich strain, 1- 3 days old) was used. 6 groups of five vials each with 50 flies/vial were exposed to CA (0; control (2% ethanol), 7.5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 mg/kg diet) for 28 days in the longevity analysis. A 28-day survival assay was carried out with rotenone (0, 250 and 500 μM). CA (30 mg/kg diet) was selected to evaluate its ameliorative potential on rotenone. For the study, the flies were divided into four groups of five vials each and exposed to CA and rotenone; Group A- control (2% ethanol), Group B- CA only, Group C- rotenone only and Group D- CA (30 mg/kg diet)+ rotenone (500 μM)for 7 days. Thereafter, the homogenate was evaluated for oxidative stress status, rate of emergence, negative geotaxis and acetyl cholinesterase activity. CA (30 mg/kg diet) extended the lifespan of flies by 21.4%. Also, CA ameliorated rotenone-induced perturbation in catalase, glutathione-S-transferase and acetyl cholinesterase activities, total thiol and glutathione levels, and behavioral deficit (p < 0.05). CA may have ameliorative effect against rotenone-induced toxicity and Parkinsonism.
Jun 2021 DOI 10.14302/issn.2689-4602.jes-21-3868
O. Henderson JeffreyCorresponding author
Department of Science and Mathematics, Judson University, Elgin, IL 60123, USA
Hox genes, their conserved derivatives, and the pathways responsible for their expression have been extensively studied in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster;the experimentation done in the Drosophila model system has given developmental biologists tools to better understand the role and significance of Hox genes and their derivatives in anterior-posterior axis determination in the Drosophila embryo. Along with this, Drosophila research opened up the door to investigation on the conservation of Hox genes between vertebrates and invertebrates. Comparative embryology in mice, chickens, pufferfish, and zebrafish have shown conserved Hox gene expression patterns specifically along the anterior-posterior axis. Recently, comparative analysis performed on dorsal-ventral axis formation showed that patterning and segmentation of the spinal cord is influenced by the action of Hox genes as well. This review will briefly consider the evolution of the vertebrate brain and the evolution and conservation of Hox genes in regulating hindbrain patterning and spinal cord development.