黑腹果蝇Drosophila melanogaster因PM体系造成的卵巢败育的实验测定

黑腹果蝇在北美的群体自1950年后受到 P 转座子的侵入,现在该区域的果蝇几皆成为P 型,而我国境内的果蝇在 P 因子的特征上具有很大的差别,从我们22个品系的杂交实验,子代卵巢解剖的实验测定中可以得到明确的证明。杂交组合正反交结果不同,证明与细胞质型有关。     

Genetic rescue of inviable hybrids between Drosophila melanogaster and its sibling species

Post-mating mechanisms are central to the establishment of reproductive isolation between different, but closely related, species. Post-mating isolation mechanisms include hybrid breakdown, hybrid sterility and hybrid lethality and may, in some cases, be reinforced by pre-mating mechanisms such as ethological differentiation. In the Drosophila melanogaster species sub-group post-mating reproductive isolation is ensured by both the inviability and the sterility of hybrids. For example when D. melanogaster females are crossed to D. simulans males the hybrid progeny are normally all female; the hybrid males die as third instar larvae. The viable hybrid females are totally sterile. Little is known of the genetic basis for either hybrid sterility or hybrid inviability, although Coyne and others have begun a genetic analysis of the sterility of hybrids within this species sub-group. We have discovered a single gene difference that rescues the otherwise inviable male hybrids from the cross between D. melanogaster females and males of its three closest relatives. The study of this locus may shed light on the genetic control of both speciation and development.     

Cryopreservation of Drosophila melanogaster embryos

There is an urgent need to preserve the ever-increasing number (greater than 30,000) of different genetic strains of D. melanogaster that are maintained in national and international stock centres and in the laboratories of individual investigators. In all cases, the stocks are maintained as adult populations and require transfer to fresh medium every two to four weeks. This is not only costly in terms of materials, labour and space, but unique strains are vulnerable to accidental loss, contamination, and changes in genotype that can occur during continuous culture through mutation, genetic drift or selection. Although cryopreservation of Drosophila germ-plasm would be an enormous advantage, many attempts using conventional procedures have been unsuccessful. D. melanogaster embryos are refractory to conventional cryopreservation procedures because of the contravening conditions required to minimize mortality resulting from both intracellular ice formation and chilling injury at subzero temperatures. To overcome these obstacles, we have developed a vitrification procedure that precludes intracellular ice formation so that the embryos can be cooled and warmed at ultra-rapid rates to minimize chilling injury, and have recovered viable embryos following storage in liquid nitrogen. In a series of 53 experiments, a total of 3,711 larvae emerged from 17,280 eggs that were cooled in liquid nitrogen (18.4 +/- 8.8%). Further, using a subset from this population, approximately 3% of the surviving larvae (24/800) developed into adults. These adults were fertile and produced an F1 generation.     

黑腹果蝇 (Drosophila melanogaster)视觉系统显微结构的研究

采用CP(Colophony-Paraffin, CP,专利号:ZL98125709.7)切片和定向包埋技术,首次对黑腹果蝇(Drosophila melanogaster)的头部进行了3 μm的连续切片及制片,经常规染色后,在光学显微镜下对其视觉系统的显微结构进行了详细的观察研究.结果表明,黑腹果蝇的视觉系统主要由复眼、视叶和一些纤维通路组成.复眼由许多形态相同的小眼构成,每个小眼由外向内分别由半球形的角膜、倒锥形的晶体和柱形的视觉柱组成,视觉柱中有7个感光细胞,其轴突穿过复眼底部的视神经孔与视叶相连;视叶由外向内又依次分为神经节层、外髓、内髓板和内髓4个髓质区以及视网膜底部与神经节层之间的网膜后交叉、神经节层与外髓之间的外交叉和外髓与内髓之间的内交叉.黑腹果蝇视觉系统中主要包括角膜细胞、晶锥细胞、网膜细胞(光感细胞)、色素细胞、柱状神经元、无长突细胞和切向神经元7种类型的神经细胞,其胞体直径均小于3 μm.     

Visual place learning in Drosophila melanogaster

The ability of insects to learn and navigate to specific locations in the environment has fascinated naturalists for decades. The impressive navigational abilities of ants, bees, wasps and other insects demonstrate that insects are capable of visual place learning, but little is known about the underlying neural circuits that mediate these behaviours. Drosophila melanogaster (common fruit fly) is a powerful model organism for dissecting the neural circuitry underlying complex behaviours, from sensory perception to learning and memory. Drosophila can identify and remember visual features such as size, colour and contour orientation. However, the extent to which they use vision to recall specific locations remains unclear. Here we describe a visual place learning platform and demonstrate that Drosophila are capable of forming and retaining visual place memories to guide selective navigation. By targeted genetic silencing of small subsets of cells in the Drosophila brain, we show that neurons in the ellipsoid body, but not in the mushroom bodies, are necessary for visual place learning. Together, these studies reveal distinct neuroanatomical substrates for spatial versus non-spatial learning, and establish Drosophila as a powerful model for the study of spatial memories.     

利福定对果蝇寿命的影响

本文研究利福定喂饲果蝇对其寿命的影响。试验组液体饲料分别含利福定10、5和2.5ppm,结果发现这三个浓度的利福定对果蝇均有延寿效应,其中,10ppm的利福定对雄果蝇的延寿效果最好,平均寿命延长22.4％(p<0.05),5ppm的利福定对雌果蝇的延寿效果最好,平均寿命延长19.2％(p<0.05)。而且,它们的最高寿命也有显著延长,提示利福定是一种较好的抗衰老药物。