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Biology subjects

Bertrand, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Bertrand, M..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Generation of neuronal diversity from common progenitors via Notch signaling in the cerebellum

Brain neurons arise from relatively few progenitors capable of giving rise to an enormous diversity of neuronal types. Nonetheless, a cardinal feature of mammalian brain neurogenesis in both the cortex and the cerebellum is that excitatory neurons and inhibitory neurons derive from separate, spatially segregated, progenitors. Whether bi-potential progenitors with an intrinsic capacity to generate both excitatory and inhibitory lineages exist and how such a fate decision may be regulated is unknown. Using cerebellar development as a model, we discover that individual embryonic cerebellar progenitors give rise to both inhibitory and excitatory lineages. We find that gradations of Notch activity levels determine the fates of the progenitors and their daughters. Daughters with the highest levels of Notch activity retain the progenitor fate. Daughters with intermediate levels of Notch activity become fate restricted to generate inhibitory neurons, while daughters with very low levels of Notch signaling adopt the excitatory fate. Therefore, Notch mediated binary cell fate choice is a mechanism for regulating the ratio of excitatory to inhibitory neurons from common progenitors. Graphical summary O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=144 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/997205v2_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (25K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@c477f8org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@a079bforg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1992877org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@2fd5de_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

developmental biology

Cropping systems that improve richness convey increased resistance and resilience to fungal, but not prokaryote, communities.

Crop harvest followed by a fallow period can act as a disturbance on soil microbial communities. Cropping systems intended to improve alpha-diversity of communities may also confer increased compositional stability during succeeding growing seasons. Over a single growing season in a long-term (18 year) agricultural field experiment incorporating conventional (CON), conservation (CA), organic (ORG) and integrated (INT) cropping systems, temporal changes in prokaryote, fungal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities were investigated overwinter, during crop growth and at harvest. While certain prokaryote phyla were influenced by cropping system (e.g. Acidobacteria), the community as a whole was primarily driven by temporal changes over the growing season as distinct overwinter and crop-associated communities, with the same trend observed regardless of cropping system. Species- rich prokaryote communities were most stable over the growing season. Cropping system exerted a greater effect on fungal communities, with alpha-diversity highest and temporal changes most stable under CA. CON was particularly detrimental for alpha-diversity in AMF communities, with AMF alpha-diversity and stability improved under all other cropping systems. Practices that promoted alpha-diversity tended to also increase the similarity and temporal stability of soil fungal (and AMF) communities during a growing season, while prokaryote communities were largely insensitive to management.

microbiology