Caspases are at the core of executing apoptosis by orchestrating cellular destruction with
proteolytic cascades. Caspase-mediated proteolysis also controls diverse nonlethal cellular …

Drosophila melanogaster spermatids undergo dramatic morphological changes as they
differentiate from small round cells approximately 12 μm in diameter into highly polarized …

The final stage of spermatid terminal differentiation involves the removal of their bulk
cytoplasm in a process known as spermatid individualization. Here we show that apoptotic …

Insects, like all eukaryotes, require sterols for structural and metabolic purposes. However,
insects, like all arthropods, cannot make sterols. Cholesterol is the dominant tissue sterol for …

Across the eukaryotic phylogeny, offspring usually inherit their mitochondrial genome from
only one of two parents: in animals, the female. Although mechanisms that eliminate …

Spermatozoa are generated and mature within a germline syncytium. Differentiation of
haploid syncytial spermatids into single motile sperm requires the encapsulation of each …

In both insects and mammals, spermatids eliminate their bulk cytoplasm as they undergo
terminal differentiation. In Drosophila, this process of dramatic cellular remodeling requires …

The ubiquitin-proteasome system catalyzes the degradation of intracellular proteins.
Although ubiquitination of proteins determines their stabilities, there is growing evidence that …

Ribosomal proteins (RPs) constitute the ribosome, thus participating in the protein
biosynthesis process. Emerging studies have suggested that many RPs exhibit different …

Summary Background Sperm length in Drosophilidae varies from a few hundred microns to
6 cm as a result of evolutionary selection. In postcopulatory competition, longer sperm have …