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Related Concept Videos

Multi-species Conserved Sequences02:51

Multi-species Conserved Sequences

Next-generation sequencing technologies have created large genomic databases of a variety of animals and plants. Ever since the human genome project was completed, scientists studied the genome of primates, mammals, and other phylogenetically distant living beings. Such large-scale  studies have provided new insights into the evolutionary relationship between organisms.
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved DNA...
Gene Families01:57

Gene Families

Gene families consist of groups of genes proposed to have originated from a common ancestor. Typically these arise through events in which a gene or genes are mistakenly duplicated during cell division. Unlike their parent genes (which are subject to selection pressure to maintain function), these gene copies do not need to preserve their sequences and may evolve at a relatively faster rate.
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...
Gene Families01:57

Gene Families

Gene families consist of groups of genes proposed to have originated from a common ancestor. Typically these arise through events in which a gene or genes are mistakenly duplicated during cell division. Unlike their parent genes (which are subject to selection pressure to maintain function), these gene copies do not need to preserve their sequences and may evolve at a relatively faster rate.
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Fats as Energy Storage Molecules01:06

Fats as Energy Storage Molecules

Triglycerides are a form of long-term energy storage molecules. They are made of glycerol and three fatty acids. To obtain energy from fat, triglycerides must first be broken down by hydrolysis into their two principal components, fatty acids and glycerol. This process, called lipolysis, takes place in the cytoplasm. The resulting fatty acids are oxidized by β-oxidation into acetyl-CoA, which is used by the Krebs cycle. The glycerol that is released from triglycerides after lipolysis directly...
Fats as Energy Storage Molecules01:06

Fats as Energy Storage Molecules

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Lipid Catabolism01:25

Lipid Catabolism

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Semi-Automated Isolation of the Stromal Vascular Fraction from Murine White Adipose Tissue Using a Tissue Dissociator
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Evolutionarily conserved gene family important for fat storage.

Bert Kadereit1, Pradeep Kumar, Wen-Jun Wang

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and the Marion Bessin Liver Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 28, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Researchers identified the fat-inducing transcript (FIT) gene family, crucial for forming lipid droplets, the cellular units for fat storage. This discovery sheds light on the fundamental process of how cells store fat.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Molecular biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Lipid droplets are cellular organelles conserved across species, essential for fat storage.
  • While lipid droplet composition and breakdown are understood, the mechanisms of their formation (biogenesis) are largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize the molecular components involved in lipid droplet biogenesis.
  • To investigate the role of newly identified genes in fat storage.

Main Methods:

  • Characterization of a conserved gene family, fat-inducing transcript (FIT).
  • Expression analysis of FIT1 and FIT2 in cell culture and mouse models.
  • RNA interference (shRNA) studies in 3T3-LI adipocytes and zebrafish to assess FIT2 function.
  • In vivo studies examining diet-induced lipid accumulation in zebrafish.

Main Results:

  • Identified the conserved gene family 'fat-inducing transcript' (FIT), comprising FIT1 and FIT2.
  • FIT1 and FIT2 are endoplasmic reticulum membrane proteins that promote lipid droplet accumulation.
  • Silencing FIT2 in adipocytes inhibited lipid droplet formation.
  • Depletion of FIT2 in zebrafish prevented diet-induced lipid accumulation in the intestine and liver.

Conclusions:

  • The FIT gene family plays a critical role in the biogenesis of lipid droplets.
  • FIT2 is essential for in vivo lipid droplet formation and fat storage, particularly in response to diet.