Biology subjects

Kacsoh, B. Z.

Publications and source records attributed to Kacsoh, B. Z..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

New Drosophila long-term memory genes revealed by assessing computational function prediction methods.

A major bottleneck to our understanding of the genetic and molecular foundation of life lies in the ability to assign function to a gene and, subsequently, a protein. Traditional molecular and genetic experiments can provide the most reliable forms of identification, but are generally low-throughput, making such discovery and assignment a daunting task. The bottleneck has led to an increasing role for computational approaches. The Critical Assessment of Functional Annotation (CAFA) effort seeks to measure the performance of computational methods. In CAFA3 we performed selected screens, including an effort focused on long-term memory. We used homology and previous CAFA predictions to identify 29 key Drosophila genes, which we tested via a long-term memory screen. We identify 11 novel genes that are involved in long-term memory formation and show a high level of connectivity with previously identified learning and memory genes. Our study provides first higher-order behavioral assay and organism screen used for CAFA assessments and revealed previously uncharacterized roles of multiple genes as possible regulators of neuronal plasticity at the boundary of information acquisition and memory formation.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2017

Drosophila species learn dialects through communal living

Many species are able to share information about their environment by communicating through auditory, visual, and olfactory cues. In Drosophila melanogaster, exposure to parasitoid wasps leads to a decline in egg laying, and exposed females communicate this threat to naive flies, which also depress egg laying. We find that species across the genus Drosophila respond to wasps by egg laying reduction, activate cleaved caspase in oocytes, and communicate the presence of wasps to naive individuals. communication within a species and between closely related species is efficient, while more distantly related species exhibit partial communication. Remarkably, partial communication between some species is enhanced after a cohabitation period that requires exchange of visual and olfactory signals. This interspecies \"dialect learning\" requires neuronal cAMP signaling in the mushroom body, suggesting neuronal plasticity facilitates dialect learning and memory. These observations establish Drosophila as genetic models for inter-species social communication and evolution of dialects.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2017

Machine learning analysis identifies Drosophila Grunge/Atrophin as an important learning and memory gene required for memory retention and social learning.

High throughput experiments are becoming increasingly common, and scientists must balance hypothesis driven experiments with genome wide data acquisition. We sought to predict novel genes involved in Drosophila learning and long-term memory from existing public high-throughput data. We performed an analysis using PILGRM, which analyzes public gene expression compendia using machine learning. We evaluated the top prediction alongside genes involved in learning and memory in IMP, an interface for functional relationship networks. We identified Grunge/Atrophin (Gug/Atro), a transcriptional repressor, histone deacetylase, as our top candidate. We find, through multiple, distinct assays, that Gug has an active role as a modulator of memory retention in the fly and its function is required in the adult mushroom body. Depletion of Gug specifically in neurons of the adult mushroom body, after cell division and neuronal development is complete, suggests that Gug function is important for memory retention through regulation of neuronal activity, and not by altering neurodevelopment. Our study provides a previously uncharacterized role for Gug as a possible regulator of neuronal plasticity at the interface of memory retention and memory extinction.

genetics↗