DEPARTMENT of BIOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY of FRIBOURG

 

  

The Department of Biology is now composed of four functional groups - Biochemistry, Ecology and Evolution, Plant Biology and Zoology, each with several distinct research groups which you are invited to visit at the above links. Teaching at both the Bachelor and Master levels reflects the interests of the research groups and the respective programmes can be consulted using the appropriate links in the left column (in French and German for the Bachelor and in English for the Master). 

Coming events & news

    Publication "hot spot"

    EB Johnson, DA Glauser, ES Dan-Glauser, D Brent Halling, RW Aldrich, & MB Goodman. PNAS 108: 20784-20789 (2011). Alternatively spliced domains interact to regulate BK potassium channel gating.
    Most human genes contain multiple alternative splice sites believed to extend the complexity and diversity of the proteome. However, little is known about how interactions among alternative exons regulate protein function. We used the Caenorhabditis elegans slo-1 large-conductance calcium and voltage-activated potassium (BK) channel gene, which contains three alternative splice sites (A, B, and C) and encodes at least 12 splice variants, to investigate the functional consequences of alternative splicing. These splice sites enable the insertion of exons encoding part of the regulator of K+ conductance (RCK)1 Ca2+ coordination domain (exons A1 and A2) and portions of the RCK1-RCK2 linker (exons B0, B1, B2, C0, and C1). Exons A1 and A2 are used in a mutually exclusive manner and are 67% identical. The other exons can extend the RCK1-RCK2 linker by up to 41 residues. Electrophysiological recordings of all isoforms show that the A1 and A2 exons regulate activation kinetics and Ca2+ sensitivity, but only if alternate exons are inserted at site B or C. Thus, RCK1 interacts with the RCK1-RCK2 linker, and the effect of exon variation on gating depends on the combination of alternate exons present in each isoform. 

    See also:
    DA Glauser, BE Johnson, RW Aldrich & MB Goodman. PNAS 108: 20790-20795 (2011). Intragenic alternative splicing coordination is essential for Caenorhabditis elegans slo-1 gene function.

     
    AC Keene & SG Sprecher. Trends in Neurosciences (doi:10.1016/j.tins.2011.11.003) Seeing the light: photobehavior in fruit fly larvae. 
    Understanding how sensory stimuli drive behavior requires a detailed understanding of the molecular and neural nature through which the stimuli are received and processed. The visual system of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster shares marked similarities to that of mammals. Although much focus has been given to the fly visual system, an even further simplified eye and brain makes the visual system of Drosophila larvae an excellent model for dissecting sensory processing and behavioral responses to light. Recent work has identified sensory and central brain neurons required for larval visual behaviors, including circadian rhythms. Here, we review the genes and neurons regulating visual processing in Drosophila larvae and discuss the implications of this work for furthering understanding of more complex visual systems


    RM Callaway, LP Waller, A Diaconu, R Pal, AR Collins, H Mueller-Schaerer, JL Maron. Escape from competition: Neighbors reduce Centaurea stoebe performance at home but not away.  Ecology 92: 2208-2213 (2011).
    The greater abundance of some exotic plants in their nonnative ranges might be explained in part by biogeographic differences in the strength of competition, but these competitive effects have not been experimentally examined in the field. We compared the effects of neighbors on the growth and reproduction of spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) in Europe, where it is native, and in Montana, where it is invasive. There were strong negative competitive effects of neighboring vegetation on C. stoebe growth and reproduction in Europe. In contrast, identical experiments in Montana resulted in insignificant impacts on C. stoebe. Although the mechanisms that produce this dramatic biogeographic difference in competitive outcome remain unknown, our results indicate that differences in net competitive interactions between ranges may contribute to the striking dominance of C. stoebe in parts of North America.

    Read More: http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/11-0518.1





     

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