Owen Marshall
@owenmarshall.bsky.social
Principal Research Fellow at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania
Leads a research group investigating the epigenetics and transcriptional regulation of neural development and disease
https://www.marshall-lab.org
Leads a research group investigating the epigenetics and transcriptional regulation of neural development and disease
https://www.marshall-lab.org
8/ We're excited to share this resource with the Drosophila community.
We hope it sparks further research into GAL4 driver dynamics, and inspires the development of better tools for studying aging and neurodegeneration.
We hope it sparks further research into GAL4 driver dynamics, and inspires the development of better tools for studying aging and neurodegeneration.
March 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
8/ We're excited to share this resource with the Drosophila community.
We hope it sparks further research into GAL4 driver dynamics, and inspires the development of better tools for studying aging and neurodegeneration.
We hope it sparks further research into GAL4 driver dynamics, and inspires the development of better tools for studying aging and neurodegeneration.
7/ TL;DR:
- Common neuronal and glial GAL4 drivers change spatially & decline in activity with age.
- nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4 is the most stable for adult studies, but even it weakens after two weeks of adult life
- Aging Drosophila research needs better tools for consistent late-life expression.
- Common neuronal and glial GAL4 drivers change spatially & decline in activity with age.
- nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4 is the most stable for adult studies, but even it weakens after two weeks of adult life
- Aging Drosophila research needs better tools for consistent late-life expression.
March 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
7/ TL;DR:
- Common neuronal and glial GAL4 drivers change spatially & decline in activity with age.
- nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4 is the most stable for adult studies, but even it weakens after two weeks of adult life
- Aging Drosophila research needs better tools for consistent late-life expression.
- Common neuronal and glial GAL4 drivers change spatially & decline in activity with age.
- nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4 is the most stable for adult studies, but even it weakens after two weeks of adult life
- Aging Drosophila research needs better tools for consistent late-life expression.
6/ We're not the only ones to have noticed a global age-related decline with drivers.
A big shout-out to the @seroude.bsky.social lab, whose work has led the way here.
A big shout-out to the @seroude.bsky.social lab, whose work has led the way here.
March 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
6/ We're not the only ones to have noticed a global age-related decline with drivers.
A big shout-out to the @seroude.bsky.social lab, whose work has led the way here.
A big shout-out to the @seroude.bsky.social lab, whose work has led the way here.
5/ Our findings highlight a critical issue for the Drosophila community:
GAL4 drivers are powerful tools, but their spatiotemporal activity must be carefully characterised for each experiment—especially in aging studies.
GAL4 drivers are powerful tools, but their spatiotemporal activity must be carefully characterised for each experiment—especially in aging studies.
March 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
5/ Our findings highlight a critical issue for the Drosophila community:
GAL4 drivers are powerful tools, but their spatiotemporal activity must be carefully characterised for each experiment—especially in aging studies.
GAL4 drivers are powerful tools, but their spatiotemporal activity must be carefully characterised for each experiment—especially in aging studies.
4/ And it's not just neurons!
The pan-glial driver repo-GAL4 also shows significant declines in activity as flies age.
This suggests a global transcriptional decline in aging brains, consistent with earlier fly and mammalian RNA-seq studies.
The pan-glial driver repo-GAL4 also shows significant declines in activity as flies age.
This suggests a global transcriptional decline in aging brains, consistent with earlier fly and mammalian RNA-seq studies.
March 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
4/ And it's not just neurons!
The pan-glial driver repo-GAL4 also shows significant declines in activity as flies age.
This suggests a global transcriptional decline in aging brains, consistent with earlier fly and mammalian RNA-seq studies.
The pan-glial driver repo-GAL4 also shows significant declines in activity as flies age.
This suggests a global transcriptional decline in aging brains, consistent with earlier fly and mammalian RNA-seq studies.
3/ The biggest surprise? GAL4 driver activity plummets during the first 1–2 weeks of adult life.
By 30 days at 18°C (~15 days at 25°C), activity is barely detectable in many brain regions.
This raises concerns for long-term studies of aging & neurodegeneration.
By 30 days at 18°C (~15 days at 25°C), activity is barely detectable in many brain regions.
This raises concerns for long-term studies of aging & neurodegeneration.
March 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
3/ The biggest surprise? GAL4 driver activity plummets during the first 1–2 weeks of adult life.
By 30 days at 18°C (~15 days at 25°C), activity is barely detectable in many brain regions.
This raises concerns for long-term studies of aging & neurodegeneration.
By 30 days at 18°C (~15 days at 25°C), activity is barely detectable in many brain regions.
This raises concerns for long-term studies of aging & neurodegeneration.
2/ Expression patterns of "pan-neuronal" drivers aren't as uniform as you'd think.
- elav[C155]-GAL4: Strong bias for mushroom body, weak in optic lobes.
- nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4: More consistent, but still regionally biased.
- ChAT-GAL4: Highly dynamic early on.
- elav[C155]-GAL4: Strong bias for mushroom body, weak in optic lobes.
- nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4: More consistent, but still regionally biased.
- ChAT-GAL4: Highly dynamic early on.
March 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
2/ Expression patterns of "pan-neuronal" drivers aren't as uniform as you'd think.
- elav[C155]-GAL4: Strong bias for mushroom body, weak in optic lobes.
- nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4: More consistent, but still regionally biased.
- ChAT-GAL4: Highly dynamic early on.
- elav[C155]-GAL4: Strong bias for mushroom body, weak in optic lobes.
- nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4: More consistent, but still regionally biased.
- ChAT-GAL4: Highly dynamic early on.
1/ The GAL4/UAS system is a cornerstone of Drosophila neuroscience. But how stable are GAL4 drivers during aging?
We found that all tested drivers—elav[C155]-GAL4, nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4, ChAT-GAL4, and repo-GAL4—show rapid declines in activity over time.
We found that all tested drivers—elav[C155]-GAL4, nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4, ChAT-GAL4, and repo-GAL4—show rapid declines in activity over time.
March 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
1/ The GAL4/UAS system is a cornerstone of Drosophila neuroscience. But how stable are GAL4 drivers during aging?
We found that all tested drivers—elav[C155]-GAL4, nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4, ChAT-GAL4, and repo-GAL4—show rapid declines in activity over time.
We found that all tested drivers—elav[C155]-GAL4, nSyb[R57C10]-GAL4, ChAT-GAL4, and repo-GAL4—show rapid declines in activity over time.
(Oh, and, hello Bluesky! So nice to finally be here :)
November 25, 2024 at 9:16 AM
(Oh, and, hello Bluesky! So nice to finally be here :)
New features include:
* Automatic handling of multiple experiments and replicates
* Automatic handling of PE and SE sequencing data
* Ability to set a separate --datadir for input FASTQs and BAMs
... and a few other neat features and bugfixes. Enjoy :)
* Automatic handling of multiple experiments and replicates
* Automatic handling of PE and SE sequencing data
* Ability to set a separate --datadir for input FASTQs and BAMs
... and a few other neat features and bugfixes. Enjoy :)
November 25, 2024 at 9:16 AM
New features include:
* Automatic handling of multiple experiments and replicates
* Automatic handling of PE and SE sequencing data
* Ability to set a separate --datadir for input FASTQs and BAMs
... and a few other neat features and bugfixes. Enjoy :)
* Automatic handling of multiple experiments and replicates
* Automatic handling of PE and SE sequencing data
* Ability to set a separate --datadir for input FASTQs and BAMs
... and a few other neat features and bugfixes. Enjoy :)