[Effect of heat shock on courtship behavior, sound production, and learning in comparison with the brain content of LIMK1 in Drosophila melanogaster males with altered structure of the LIMK1 gene].

In this paper we present results of a comprehensive analysis of the effect of heat shock at different stages of ontogenesis (adult stage, development of the mushroom bodies and the central complex) on courtship behavior (latency, duration and efficacy of courtship), sound production (pulse interval, dispersion of interpulse interval, the percentage of distorted pulses, the mean duration of the pulse parcels), learning and memory formation compared with the content of isoforms LIMK1 in Drosophila melanogaster male with altered structure of the limk1 gene. The heat shock is shown to affect the behavior parameters and LIMK1 content in analyzed strains of Drosophila. The most pronounced effect of the heat shock was observed at the stage of development of the central complex (CC). Heat shock at CC and adult restores the ability of learning and memory formation in the mutant strain agn(ts3), which normally is not able to learn and form memory. Correlations between changes of content of isoforms LIMK1 and behavioral parameters due to heat shock have not been established.

[Systemic regulation of genetic and cytogenetic processes by a signal cascade of actin remodeling: locus agnostic in Drosophila].

The concept on systemic regulation of genetic and cytogenetic processes has acquired a new perspective after the completion of the Human Genome project, when the view on systemic realization of genetic activity in the dynamic spatial organization of the genome is the nucleus was generally accepted. This organization underlies plasticity of complex biological systems. Chromosome position within the nucleus determined both processes of normal development and the development of genomic diseases, i.e., changes according to the environmental requirements, current needs of the organism, and its individual experience. Nuclear actin has been envisioned as a main factor bridging three levels of the genome organization (nucleotide, structural, and spatial), due to its capability of (1) regulating transcription by activating all three classes of RNA polymerase; (2) participating in chromatin remodeling by interacting with numerous proteins; and (3) lining the nuclear membrane, determining the chromosome attachment points and regulating export from the nucleus. In view of this, the role of actin remodeling factors (LIMK1, cofilin, actin) in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, including prionic ones, and in the mechanisms of generation of genomic diseases, syndromes resulting from unequal recombination, has been intensely studied. Drosophila is a helpful model organism to determine the sequence of events in this system of hierarchical relationships. Using spontaneous and mutant variants of the agnostic locus, we have designed a model of the Williams syndrome, which also reproduces main diagnostic traits of neurodegenerative diseases.

Comparative analysis of the locations of the NR1 and NR2 NMDA receptor subunits in honeybee (Apis mellifera) and fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster, Canton-S wild-type) cerebral ganglia.

The locations of the NR1 and NR2 subunits of the GABA receptor were studied in brain structures in insects--honeybees and fruit flies--using an immunohistochemical method. The specificities of the antibodies to the NR1 and NR2 subunits were confirmed by the antisense knockdown method for the NR1 subunit and western blotting. The data obtained here lead to the conclusion that the distributions of the NR1 and NR2 subunits of the NMDA receptor complex in the cerebral ganglia of the honeybee and fruit fly are similar; areas with the highest concentrations of NR1 and NR2 subunits were identified, and these were found to be different in the different insects. This is associated with the behavioral characteristics of these two insect species.

[Comparative analisys of localization NR1 and NR2 subunits of NMDA-receptor in the brain structures in honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) and Drosophila (Drosophila melanogaster, wild type canton-S)].

Localization NR1 and NR2 subunits of NMDA-receptor was studied in brain structures of the honeybee and Drosophila by immunohistochemistry. The Western-blotting and NR1 subunit antisense-knockdown confirmed specificity of antibodies to NR1 and NR2 subunits. The data obtained demonstrated similar distribution of NR1 and NR2 subunits of NMDA-receptor in the insect brain (cranial ganglion). The brain regions with the highest expression NR1 and NR2 were different in the honeybee and Drosophila. This can be associated with behavioral repertoire peculiarities in these insects.