UNCOUPLING PROTEINS · Function and evolution of uncoupling proteins in Drosophila melanogaster
FP6 — Marie Curie Actions (Human Resources and Mobility)
- Duration
- 2006-08-01 → 2009-07-31
- EU contribution
- €269,720
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- OIF
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Results in brief
Final Activity Report Summary - UNCOUPLING PROTEINS (Function and evolution of uncoupling proteins in Drosophila Melanogaster)
A major challenge in evolutionary biology today is understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms that give rise to phenotypic differences within and between species. Such differences can arise from mutations affecting the function of gene products (i.e. proteins or RNAs) or mutations that affect expression of these genes. Historically, researchers have looked almost exclusively for (and often found) changes in protein coding regions that appeared to contribute to phenotypic evolution; however, during the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of studies showing that changes affecting gene regulation can also bring about diversity in ecologically relevant traits that affect behaviour, physiology, and morphology. Using various approaches, such as measuring allelic expression with next generation sequencing methods, we dissected the genetic basis of changes in gene expression in Drosophila species. We showed that: 1) mutations affecting gene expression are generally recessive; 2) they accumulate preferentially in promoters of genes (cis-regulation) 3) cis-acting factors are more additive than trans-acting factors such as transcriptional factors; 4) the global level of gene expression of a genome could be affected by the cytoplasm; and finally 5) the expression of genes in the germlines favours the insertion of transposable elements in their neighbourhood.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
At the beginning of 1997, it seemed that the research on the mitochondrial uncoupling protein (UCP) could not lead to any new surprises. One member of this proton carrier family was known at that time. This UCP is present in mammalian mitochondria and is a key component of non-shivering thermogenesis.However, during the seven last years, genome-sequencing programs have identified novel UCPs in mammals but also in many other eukaryotes including unicellular organisms, fungi, and plants. New functions have been proposed for these new UCPs and many studies have shown their involvement in cold tolerance, fever, senescence, inflammation, diabete, atherosclerosis and obesity. Despite a considerable effort from the scientific community, no consensus for their physiological roles is presently accepted. Do they maintain thermal balance" in mitochondria (and by extension in the entire cell), or do they work as "safety valves" when overloads in energy metabolism occur? To answer to these questions, we will focus on t he cold induction of the four UCPs described in Drosophila melanogaster.First, we will investigate the protein and regulatory sequence polymorphism existing in natural populations living under different climate. Second, we will analyse experimentally the expression of UCP genes after cold shock or cold acclimation. Third, we will use the powerful of genetic tools available in Drosophila to modify the expression of UCPs."
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITY OF LAUSANNE · LAUSANNECoordinatorCity levelSwitzerland
- HARVARD UNIVERSITY · CAMBRIDGE, MACity levelUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union