Parallel High-Throughput Automated Assays to Measure Cell Growth and Beta-Galactosidase Reporter Gene Expression in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Parallel high-throughput automated assays are described for the measurement of cell growth and β-galactosidase reporter gene expression from a single culture of the yeast S. cerevisiae. The dual assay measures the effect of test compounds on expression of a specific gene of interest linked to the β-galactosidase reporter gene, and simultaneously tests for compound toxicity and other effects on cell growth. Examples of assay development and validation results are used to illustrate how this protocol may be used to screen two yeast cell lines in parallel. Yeast cells are grown overnight in V-bottom polypropylene 384-well plates, after which portions of the cell suspension are transferred to clear and to white flat-bottom 384-well plates for measurement of cell growth and reporter gene expression, respectively. Cell growth is determined by measurement of absorbance at 595 nm, and β-galactosidase expression is quantified by Beta-Glo, a commercially available luminescent β-galactosidase substrate. Curr. Protoc. Chem. Biol. 3:1-14 © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A MOD(ern) perspective on literature curation

Curation of biological data is a multi-faceted task whose goal is to create a structured, comprehensive, integrated, and accurate resource of current biological knowledge. These structured data facilitate the work of the scientific community by providing knowledge about genes or genomes and by generating validated connections between the data that yield new information and stimulate new research approaches. For the model organism databases (MODs), an important source of data is research publications. Every published paper containing experimental information about a particular model organism is a candidate for curation. All such papers are examined carefully by curators for relevant information. Here, four curators from different MODs describe the literature curation process and highlight approaches taken by the four MODs to address: (1) the decision process by which papers are selected, and (2) the identification and prioritization of the data contained in the paper. We will highlight some of the challenges that MOD biocurators face, and point to ways in which researchers and publishers can support the work of biocurators and the value of such support.

The fatty acid synthase fasn-1 acts upstream of WNK and Ste20/GCK-VI kinases to modulate antimicrobial peptide expression in C. elegans epidermis

An important part of the innate immune response of the nematode C. elegans to fungal infection is the rapid induction of antimicrobial peptide gene expression. One of these genes, nlp‑29, is expressed at a low level in adults under normal conditions. Its expression is up-regulated in the epidermis by infection with Drechmeria coniospora, but also by physical injury and by osmotic stress. For infection and wounding, the induction is dependent on a p38 MAP kinase cascade, but for osmotic stress, this pathway is not required. To characterize further the pathways that control the expression of nlp‑29, we carried out a genetic screen for negative regulatory genes. We isolated a number of Peni (peptide expression no infection) mutants and cloned one. It corresponds to fasn‑1, the nematode ortholog of vertebrate fatty acid synthase. We show here that a pathway involving fatty acid synthesis and the evolutionary conserved wnk‑1 and gck‑3/Ste20/GCK‑VI kinases modulates nlp‑29 expression in the C. elegans epidermis, independently of p38 MAPK signaling. The control of the antimicrobial peptide gene nlp‑29 thus links different physiological processes, including fatty acid metabolism, osmoregulation, maintenance of epidermal integrity and the innate immune response to infection.

Zebrafish: an emerging technology for in vivo pharmacological assessment to identify potential safety liabilities in early drug discovery

The zebrafish is a well-established model organism used in developmental biology. In the last decade, this technology has been extended to the generation of high-value knowledge on safety risks of novel drugs. Indeed, the larval zebrafish appear to combine advantages of whole organism phenotypic assays and those (rapid production of results with minimal resource engagement) of in vitro high-throughput screening techniques. Thus, if appropriately evaluated, it can offer undeniable advantages in drug discovery for identification of target and off-target effects. Here, we review some applications of zebrafish to identify potential safety liabilities, particularly before lead/candidate selection. For instance, zebrafish cardiovascular system can be used to reveal decreases in heart rate and atrial-ventricular dissociation, which may signal human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) channel blockade. Another main area of interest is the CNS, where zebrafish behavioural assays have been and are further being developed into screening platforms for assessment of locomotor activity, convulsant and proconvulsant liability, cognitive impairment, drug dependence potential and impaired visual and auditory functions. Zebrafish also offer interesting possibilities for evaluating effects on bone density and gastrointestinal function. Furthermore, available knowledge of the renal system in larval zebrafish can allow identification of potential safety issues of drug candidates on this often neglected area in early development platforms. Although additional validation is certainly needed, the zebrafish is emerging as a versatile in vivo animal model to identify off-target effects that need investigation and further clarification early in the drug discovery process to reduce the current, high degree of attrition in development.

Ciona intestinalis as an emerging model organism: its regeneration under controlled conditions and methodology for egg dechorionation

The ascidian Ciona intestinalis is a model organism of developmental and evolutionary biology and may provide crucial clues concerning two fundamental matters, namely, how chordates originated from the putative deuterostome ancestor and how advanced chordates originated from the simplest chordates. In this paper, a whole-life-span culture of C. intestinalis was conducted. Fed with the diet combination of dry Spirulina, egg yolk, Dicrateria sp., edible yeast and weaning diet for shrimp, C. intestinalis grew up to average 59 mm and matured after 60 d cultivation. This culture process could be repeated using the artificially cultured mature ascidians as material. When the fertilized eggs were maintained under 10, 15, 20, 25 degrees C, they hatched within 30 h, 22 h, 16 h and 12 h 50 min respectively experiencing cleavage, blastulation, gastrulation, neurulation, tailbud stage and tadpole stage. The tadpole larvae were characterized as typical but simplified chordates because of their dorsal nerve cord, notochord and primordial brain. After 8 - 24 h freely swimming, the tadpole larvae settled on the substrates and metamorphosized within 1- 2 d into filter feeding sessile juvenile ascidians. In addition, unfertilized eggs were successfully dechorionated in filtered seawater containing 1% Tripsin, 0.25% EDTA at pH of 10.5 within 40 min. After fertilization, the dechorionated eggs developed well and hatched at normal hatching rate. In conclusion, this paper presented feasible methodology for rearing the tadpole larvae of C. intestinalis into sexual maturity under controlled conditions and detailed observations on the embryogenesis of the laboratory cultured ascidians, which will facilitate developmental and genetic research using this model system.

In silico proteome analysis to facilitate proteomics experiments using mass spectrometry

Proteomics experiments typically involve protein or peptide separation steps coupled to the identification of many hundreds to thousands of peptides by mass spectrometry. Development of methodology and instrumentation in this field is proceeding rapidly, and effective software is needed to link the different stages of proteomic analysis. We have developed an application, proteogest, written in Perl that generates descriptive and statistical analyses of the biophysical properties of multiple (e.g. thousands) protein sequences submitted by the user, for instance protein sequences inferred from the complete genome sequence of a model organism. The application also carries out in silico proteolytic digestion of the submitted proteomes, or subsets thereof, and the distribution of biophysical properties of the resulting peptides is presented. proteogest is customizable, the user being able to select many options, for instance the cleavage pattern of the digestion treatment or the presence of modifications to specific amino acid residues. We show how proteogest can be used to compare the proteomes and digested proteome products of model organisms, to examine the added complexity generated by modification of residues, and to facilitate the design of proteomics experiments for optimal representation of component proteins.

Azolla--a model organism for plant genomic studies

The aquatic ferns of the genus Azolla are nitrogen-fixing plants that have great potentials in agricultural production and environmental conservation. Azolla in many aspects is qualified to serve as a model organism for genomic studies because of its importance in agriculture, its unique position in plant evolution, its symbiotic relationship with the N2-fixing cyanobacterium, Anabaena azollae, and its moderate-sized genome. The goals of this genome project are not only to understand the biology of the Azolla genome to promote its applications in biological research and agriculture practice but also to gain critical insights about evolution of plant genomes. Together with the strategic and technical improvement as well as cost reduction of DNA sequencing, the deciphering of their genetic code is imminent.