Fundación Instituto Leloir

About: Fundación Instituto Leloir is a facility organization based out in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Dentate gyrus & Neurogenesis. The organization has 702 authors who have published 1052 publications receiving 39299 citations.

High frequency neuronal bursting is essential for circadian and sleep behaviors in Drosophila

Abstract: Circadian rhythms have been extensively studied in Drosophila, however, still little is known about how the electrical properties of clock neurons are specified. We have performed a behavioral genetic screen through the downregulation of candidate ion channels in the lateral ventral neurons (LNvs) and show that the hyperpolarization-activated cation current Ih is important for the behaviors that the LNvs command: temporal organization of locomotor activity and sleep. Using whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology we demonstrate that small LNvs are bursting neurons, and that Ih is necessary to achieve the high frequency bursting firing pattern characteristic of both types of LNvs. Since firing in bursts has been associated to neuropeptide release, we hypothesized that Ih would be important for LNvs communication. Indeed, herein we demonstrate that Ih is fundamental for the recruitment of PDF filled dense core vesicles to the terminals at the dorsal protocerebrum and for their timed release, and hence for the temporal coordination of circadian behaviors.

Exploring Protein Conformational Diversity.

Abstract: The native state of proteins is composed of conformers in dynamical equilibrium. In this chapter, different issues related to conformational diversity are explored using a curated and experimentally based database called CoDNaS (Conformational Diversity in the Native State). This database is a collection of redundant structures for the same sequence. CoDNaS estimates the degree of conformational diversity using different global and local structural similarity measures. It allows the user to explore how structural differences among conformers change as a function of several structural features providing further biological information. This chapter explores the measurement of conformational diversity and its relationship with sequence divergence. Also, it discusses how proteins with high conformational diversity could affect homology modeling techniques.

Xanthomonas campestris with multiple copies of gumB and gumC

Abstract: A recombinant Xanthomonas campestris culture having multiple copies of gumB and gumC. It has been found that such a culture produces unpasteurized xanthan molecules having an intrinsic viscosity which is at least 20% greater than xanthan from a corresponding strain of Xanthomonas campestris not having multiple copies of gumB and gumC.