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Approximately 80% of adults are infected with a member of the herpesviridae family. Herpesviruses establish life-long latent infections within neurons, which may reactivate into lytic infections due to stress or immune suppression. There are nine human herpesviruses (HHV) posing health concerns from benign conditions to life threatening encephalitis, including cancers associated with viral infections. The current treatment options for most HHV conditions mainly include several nucleoside and nucleotide analogs targeting viral DNA polymerase. Although these drugs help manage infections, their common mechanism of action may lead to the development of drug resistance, which is particularly devastating in immunocompromised patients. Therefore, new classes of drugs directed against novel targets in HHVs are necessary to alleviate this issue. We analyzed the conservation rates of all proteins in herpes simplex virus 1 (HHV-1), a representative of the HHV family and one of the most common viruses infecting the human population. Furthermore, we generated a full-length structure model of the most conserved HHV-1 protein, the DNA packaging terminase pUL15. A series of computational analyses were performed on the model to identify ATP and DNA binding sites and characterize the dynamics of the protein. Our study indicates that proteins involved in HHV-1 DNA packaging and cleavage are amongst the most conserved gene products of HHVs. Since the packaging protein pUL15 is the most conserved among all HHV-1 gene products, the virus will have a lower chance of developing resistance to small molecules targeting pUL15. A subsequent analysis of the structure of pUL15 revealed distinct ATP and DNA binding domains and the elastic network model identifies a functionally important hinge region between the two domains of pUL15. The atomic information on the active and allosteric sites in the ATP- and DNA-bound model of pUL15 presented in this study can inform the structure-based drug discovery of a new class of drugs to treat a wide range of HHVs.

Acquiring the gene expression profiles of specific neuronal cell-types is important for understanding their molecular identities. Genome-wide gene expression profiles of genetically defined cell-types can be acquired by collecting and sequencing mRNA that is bound to epitope-tagged ribosomes (TRAP; translating ribosome affinity purification). Here, we introduce a transgenic mouse model that combines the TRAP technique with the tetracycline transactivator (tTA) system by expressing EGFP-tagged ribosomal protein L10a (EGFP-L10a) under control of the tetracycline response element (tetO-TRAP). This allows both spatial control of EGFP-L10a expression through cell-type specific tTA expression, as well as temporal regulation by inhibiting transgene expression through the administration of doxycycline. We show that crossing tetO-TRAP mice with transgenic mice expressing tTA under the Camk2a promoter (Camk2a-tTA) results in offspring with cell-type specific expression of EGFP-L10a in CA1 pyramidal neurons and medium spiny neurons in the striatum. Co-immunoprecipitation confirmed that EGFP-L10a integrates into a functional ribosomal complex. In addition, collection of ribosome-bound mRNA from the hippocampus yielded the expected enrichment of genes expressed in CA1 pyramidal neurons, as well as a depletion of genes expressed in other hippocampal cell-types. Finally, we show that crossing tetO-TRAP mice with transgenic Fos-tTA mice enables the expression of EGFP-L10a in CA1 pyramidal neurons that are activated during a fear conditioning trial. The tetO-TRAP mouse can be combined with other tTA mouse lines to enable gene expression profiling of a variety of different cell-types.

The subcellular localization and translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) supports functional differentiation between cellular compartments. In neuronal dendrites, local translation of mRNA provides a rapid and specific mechanism for synaptic plasticity and memory formation, and might be involved in the pathophysiology of certain brain disorders. Despite the importance of dendritic mRNA translation, little is known about which mRNAs can be translated in dendrites in vivo and when their translation occurs. Here we collect ribosome-bound mRNA from the dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons in the adult mouse hippocampus. We find that dendritic mRNA rapidly associates with ribosomes following a novel experience consisting of a contextual fear conditioning trial. High throughput RNA sequencing followed by machine learning classification reveals an unexpected breadth of ribosome-bound dendritic mRNAs, including mRNAs expected to be entirely somatic. Our findings are in agreement with a mechanism of synaptic plasticity that engages the acute local translation of functionally diverse dendritic mRNAs.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) in excess have been implicated in numerous chronic illnesses, including asthma, diabetes, aging, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative illness. However, at lower concentrations, ROS can also serve essential routine functions as part of cellular signal transduction pathways. As products of atmospheric oxygen, ROS-mediated signals can function to coordinate external environmental conditions with growth and development. A central challenge has been a mechanistic distinction between the toxic effects of oxidative stress and endogenous ROS functions occurring at much lower concentrations. Drosophila larval aerotactic behavioral assays revealed strong developmentally regulated aversion to mild hyperoxia mediated by H2O2-dependent activation of class IV multidendritic (mdIV) sensory neurons expressing the Degenerin/epithelial Na(+) channel subunit, Pickpocket1 (PPK1). Electrophysiological recordings in foraging-stage larvae (78-84 h after egg laying [AEL]) demonstrated PPK1-dependent activation of mdIV neurons by nanomolar levels of H2O2 well below levels normally associated with oxidative stress. Acute sensitivity was reduced > 100-fold during the larval developmental transition to wandering stage (> 96 h AEL), corresponding to a loss of hyperoxia aversion behavior during the same period. Degradation of endogenous H2O2 by transgenic overexpression of catalase in larval epidermis caused a suppression of hyperoxia aversion behavior. Conversely, disruption of endogenous catalase activity using a UAS-CatRNAi transposon resulted in an enhanced hyperoxia-aversive response. These results demonstrate an essential role for low-level endogenous H2O2 as an environment-derived signal coordinating developmental behavioral transitions.

Genome-wide studies of circadian transcription or mRNA translation have been hindered by the presence of heterogeneous cell populations in complex tissues such as the nervous system. We describe here the use of a Drosophila cell-specific translational profiling approach to document the rhythmic "translatome" of neural clock cells for the first time in any organism. Unexpectedly, translation of most clock-regulated transcripts--as assayed by mRNA ribosome association--occurs at one of two predominant circadian phases, midday or mid-night, times of behavioral quiescence; mRNAs encoding similar cellular functions are translated at the same time of day. Our analysis also indicates that fundamental cellular processes--metabolism, energy production, redox state (e.g., the thioredoxin system), cell growth, signaling and others--are rhythmically modulated within clock cells via synchronized protein synthesis. Our approach is validated by the identification of mRNAs known to exhibit circadian changes in abundance and the discovery of hundreds of novel mRNAs that show translational rhythms. This includes Tdc2, encoding a neurotransmitter synthetic enzyme, which we demonstrate is required within clock neurons for normal circadian locomotor activity., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Controlled organismal growth to an appropriate adult size requires a regulated balance between nutrient resources, feeding behavior and growth rate. Defects can result in decreased survival and/or reproductive capability. Since Drosophila adults do not grow larger after eclosion, timing of feeding cessation during the third and final larval instar is critical to final size. We demonstrate that larval food exit is preceded by a period of increased larval surfacing behavior termed the Intermediate Surfacing Transition (IST) that correlates with the end of larval feeding. This behavioral transition occurred during the larval Terminal Growth Period (TGP), a period of constant feeding and exponential growth of the animal. IST behavior was dependent upon function of a subset of peripheral sensory neurons expressing the Degenerin/Epithelial sodium channel (DEG/ENaC) subunit, Pickpocket1(PPK1). PPK1 neuron inactivation or loss of PPK1 function caused an absence of IST behavior. Transgenic PPK1 neuron hyperactivation caused premature IST behavior with no significant change in timing of larval food exit resulting in decreased final adult size. These results suggest a peripheral sensory mechanism functioning to alter the relationship between the animal and its environment thereby contributing to the length of the larval TGP and determination of final adult size., ((c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The three Drosophila atypical soluble guanylyl cyclases, Gyc-89Da, Gyc-89Db, and Gyc-88E, have been proposed to act as oxygen detectors mediating behavioral responses to hypoxia. Drosophila larvae mutant in any of these subunits were defective in their hypoxia escape response-a rapid cessation of feeding and withdrawal from their food. This response required cGMP and the cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel, cng, but did not appear to be dependent on either of the cGMP-dependent protein kinases, dg1 and dg2. Specific activation of the Gyc-89Da neurons using channel rhodopsin showed that activation of these neurons was sufficient to trigger the escape behavior. The hypoxia escape response was restored by reintroducing either Gyc-89Da or Gyc-89Db into either Gyc-89Da or Gyc-89Db neurons in either mutation. This suggests that neurons that co-express both Gyc-89Da and Gyc-89Db subunits are primarily responsible for activating this behavior. These include sensory neurons that innervate the terminal sensory cones. Although the roles of Gyc-89Da and Gyc-89Db in the hypoxia escape behavior appeared to be identical, we also showed that changes in larval crawling behavior in response to either hypoxia or hyperoxia differed in their requirements for these two atypical sGCs, with responses to 15% oxygen requiring Gyc-89Da and responses to 19 and 25% requiring Gyc-89Db. For this behavior, the identity of the neurons appeared to be critical in determining the ability to respond appropriately.

Growth of multicellular organisms proceeds through a series of precisely timed developmental events requiring coordination between gene expression, behavioral changes, and environmental conditions. In Drosophila melanogaster larvae, the essential midthird instar transition from foraging (feeding) to wandering (non-feeding) behavior occurs prior to pupariation and metamorphosis. The timing of this key transition is coordinated with larval growth and size, but physiological mechanisms regulating this process are poorly understood. Results presented here show that Drosophila larvae associate specific environmental conditions, such as temperature, with food in order to enact appropriate foraging strategies. The transition from foraging to wandering behavior is associated with a striking reversal in the behavioral responses to food-associated stimuli that begins early in the third instar, well before food exit. Genetic manipulations disrupting expression of the Degenerin/Epithelial Sodium Channel subunit, Pickpocket1(PPK1) or function of PPK1 peripheral sensory neurons caused defects in the timing of these behavioral transitions. Transient inactivation experiments demonstrated that sensory input from PPK1 neurons is required during a critical period early in the third instar to influence this developmental transition. Results demonstrate a key role for the PPK1 sensory neurons in regulation of important behavioral transitions associated with developmental progression of larvae from foraging to wandering stage.

Coordination of rhythmic locomotion depends upon a precisely balanced interplay between central and peripheral control mechanisms. Although poorly understood, peripheral proprioceptive mechanosensory input is thought to provide information about body position for moment-to-moment modifications of central mechanisms mediating rhythmic motor output. Pickpocket1 (PPK1) is a Drosophila subunit of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) family displaying limited expression in multiple dendritic (md) sensory neurons tiling the larval body wall and a small number of bipolar neurons in the upper brain. ppk1 null mutant larvae had normal external touch sensation and md neuron morphology but displayed striking alterations in crawling behavior. Loss of PPK1 function caused an increase in crawling speed and an unusual straight path with decreased stops and turns relative to wild-type. This enhanced locomotion resulted from sustained peristaltic contraction wave cycling at higher frequency with a significant decrease in pause period between contraction cycles. The mutant phenotype was rescued by a wild-type PPK1 transgene and duplicated by expressing a ppk1RNAi transgene or a dominant-negative PPK1 isoform. These results demonstrate that the PPK1 channel plays an essential role in controlling rhythmic locomotion and provide a powerful genetic model system for further analysis of central and peripheral control mechanisms and their role in movement disorders.