Bromodomains bind acetylated histone H4 peptides in vitro. Since many chromatin remodeling complexes and the general transcription factor TFIID contain bromodomains, they may link histone acetylation to increased transcription. Here we show that yeast Bdf1 bromodomains recognize endogenous acetyl-histone H3/H4 as a mechanism for chromatin association in vivo. Surprisingly, deletion of BDF1 or a Bdf1 mutation that abolishes histone binding leads to transcriptional downregulation of genes located at heterochromatin-euchromatin boundaries. Wild-type Bdf1 protein imposes a physical barrier to the spreading of telomere- and mating-locus-proximal SIR proteins. Biochemical experiments indicate that Bdf1 competes with the Sir2 deacetylase for binding to acetylated histone H4. These data suggest an active role for Bdf1 in euchromatin maintenance and antisilencing through a histone tail-encoded boundary function.

Decades of research have uncovered much of the molecular machinery responsible for establishing and maintaining proper gene transcription patterns in eukaryotes. Although the composition of this machinery is largely known, mechanisms regulating its activity by covalent modification are just coming into focus. Here, we review several cases of ubiquitination, sumoylation, and acetylation that link specific covalent modification of the transcriptional apparatus to their regulatory function. We propose that potential cascades of modifications serve as molecular rheostats that fine-tune the control of transcription in diverse organisms.

Drosophila sensory neurons form distinctive terminal branch patterns in the developing neuropile of the embryonic central nervous system. In this paper we make a genetic analysis of factors regulating arbor position. We show that mediolateral position is determined in a binary fashion by expression (chordotonal neurons) or nonexpression (multidendritic neurons) of the Robo3 receptor for the midline repellent Slit. Robo3 expression is one of a suite of chordotonal neuron properties that depend on expression of the proneural gene atonal. Different features of terminal branches are separately regulated: an arbor can be shifted mediolaterally without affecting its dorsoventral location, and the distinctive remodeling of one arbor continues as normal despite this arbor shifting to an abnormal position in the neuropile.

A recent report presents evidence that the exact timing of action potential output in rat hippocampal pyramidal neurons is similarly modulated during several diverse forms of behavior. These data suggest that it is, to a large degree, the intrinsic properties of the neurons themselves that produce this temporal coding of information. Thus, this report provides an outstanding example of the importance of single neuronal properties, even during complex behaviors.

In its natural environment, which consists of fermenting plant materials, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster encounters high levels of ethanol. Flies are well equipped to deal with the toxic effects of ethanol; they use it as an energy source and for lipid biosynthesis. The primary ethanol-metabolizing pathway in flies involves the enzymes alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH); their role in adaptation to ethanol-rich environments has been studied extensively. The similarity between Drosophila and mammals is not restricted to the manner in which they metabolize ethanol; behaviors elicited by ethanol exposure are also remarkably similar in these organisms. Flies show signs of acute intoxication, which range from locomotor stimulation at low doses to complete sedation at higher doses, they develop tolerance upon intermittent ethanol exposure, and they appear to like ethanol, showing preference for ethanol-containing media. Molecular genetic analysis of ethanol-induced behaviors in Drosophila, while still in its early stages, has already revealed some surprising parallels with mammals. The availability of powerful tools for genetic manipulation in Drosophila, together with the high degree of conservation at the genomic level, make Drosophila a promising model organism to study the mechanism by which ethanol regulates behavior and the mechanisms underlying the organism's adaptation to long-term ethanol exposure.

The hippocampus has been used extensively as a model to study plastic changes in the brain's neural circuitry. Immediately after high-frequency stimulation to hippocampal Schaffer collateral axons, a dramatic change occurs in the relationship between the presynaptic CA3 and the postsynaptic CA1 pyramidal neurons. For a fixed excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP), there arises an increased likelihood of action potential generation in the CA1 pyramidal neuron. This phenomenon is called EPSP-spike (E-S) potentiation. We explored E-S potentiation, using patch-clamp techniques in the hippocampal slice preparation. A specific protocol was developed to measure the action potential probability for a given synaptic strength, which allowed us to quantify the amount of E-S potentiation for a single neuron. E-S potentiation was greatest when gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic inhibition was intact, suggesting that modulation of inhibition is a major aspect of E-S potentiation. Expression of E-S potentiation also correlated with a reduced action-potential threshold, which was greatest when GABAergic inhibition was intact. Conditioning stimuli produced a smaller threshold reduction when inhibition was blocked, but some reduction also occurred in the absence of a conditioning stimulus. Together, these results suggest that E-S potentiation is caused primarily through a reduction of GABAergic inhibition, leading to larger EPSPs and reduced action potential threshold. Our findings do not rule out, however, the possibility that modulation of voltage-gated conductances also contributes to E-S potentiation.

Susceptibility to drug addiction depends on genetic and environmental factors and their complex interactions. Studies with mammalian models have identified molecular targets, neurochemical systems, and brain regions that mediate some of the addictive properties of abused drugs. Yet, our understanding of how the primary effects of drugs lead to addiction remains incomplete. Recently, researchers have turned to the invertebrate model systems Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans to dissect the mechanisms by which abused drugs modulate behavior. Due to their sophisticated genetics, relatively simple anatomy, and their remarkable molecular similarity to mammals, these invertebrate models should provide useful insights into the mechanisms of drug action. Here we review recent behavioral and genetic studies in flies and worms on the effects of ethanol, cocaine, and nicotine, three of the most widely abused drugs in the world.

Mutualism with ants is suspected to be a highly labile trait within homopteran evolution. We used molecular phylogenetic evidence to test whether the mutualism has multiple origins within a single aphid genus. We constructed a molecular phylogeny of 15 Chaitophorus Koch (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea) species, using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and II sequences. Ant tending evolved, or was lost, at least five times during Chaitophorus evolution. Parametric bootstrapping rejected the hypothesis of a single origin of ant tending in this genus. Further, the Chaitophorus made at least two host genus switches from poplars (Populus) to willow (Salix), and four switches in feeding position, from leaf feeding to stem feeding or vice versa. This is the first phylogenetic confirmation that ant tending is an evolutionarily labile trait in aphids.