David L. Stern

Whole-body 3D kinematics of freely behaving Drosophila

Seven high-speed cameras, a hybrid 2D/3D network and body-model inverse kinematics track 50 keypoints on freely moving flies; height and speed peak together at all running speeds.

Rapidly evolving aphid gall effector proteins exhibit saposin-like folds

The paper predicts structures of rapidly evolving aphid effector proteins using Alphafold2 with custom multiple sequence alignments, revealing saposin-like folds and structural diversity.

Evolutionary basis of intermale sexual behavior by multiple pheromone switches in Drosophila

The paper identifies pheromonal changes in Drosophila species that drive intermale sexual behavior and prevent hybridization with sibling species.

Chromosome scale genomes of two invasive Adelges species enablevirtual screening for selective adelgicides

The paper sequenced genomes of two invasive adelgid species to identify potential targets for selective insecticides through comparative analysis and virtual screening.

An essential experimental control for functional connectivity mapping with optogenetics

The paper identifies leaky Chrimson expression as a source of false-positive signals in optogenetic functional connectivity experiments and proposes a control to mitigate this issue.

A Bayesian Solution to Count the Number of Molecules within a Diffraction Limited Spot

This paper introduces a Bayesian method to estimate the number of fluorescent emitters in diffraction-limited spots, showing improved accuracy over existing methods.

Courtship song differs between African and European populations of Drosophila melanogaster and involves a strong effect locus

The paper identifies a strong genetic locus influencing courtship song differences between African and European Drosophila melanogaster populations.

Analysis of meiotic recombination in Drosophila simulans shows heterozygous inversions do not cause an interchromosomal effect

The paper investigates whether heterozygous inversions in Drosophila simulans cause an interchromosomal effect and finds no evidence of such an effect.

The density of regulatory information is a major determinant of evolutionary constraint on non-coding DNA in Drosophila

The paper investigates the relationship between regulatory information density and evolutionary constraint in non-coding DNA of Drosophila, finding that dense regulatory regions contribute significantly to constraint.

Nested neural circuits generate distinct acoustic signals during Drosophila courtship

The paper maps neuronal circuits in Drosophila that generate distinct courtship songs and shows they are organized into nested feed-forward pathways.

Sensory neuron population expansion enhances odor tracking without sensitizing projection neurons

The paper shows that expanded sensory neuron populations in Drosophila enhance odor tracking without increasing projection neuron sensitivity.

The Janelia Atalanta plasmids provide a simple and efficient CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homology directed repair platform for Drosophila

The paper introduces a CRISPR/Cas9 HDR plasmid platform for Drosophila with higher efficiency than existing methods, enabling new genetic experiments.

Single-cell type analysis of wing premotor circuits in the ventral nerve cord of Drosophila melanogaster

The paper identifies 196 cell types in the Drosophila ventral nerve cord using split-GAL4 and links them to a connectomic dataset for circuit analysis.

Combinatorial circuit dynamics orchestrate flexible motor patterns in Drosophila

This study identifies how combinatorial activation of descending pathways in Drosophila generates flexible motor patterns during courtship behavior.

Transgenic tools for targeted chromosome rearrangements allow construction of balancer chromosomes in non-melanogaster Drosophila species

Regulation of sexually dimorphic abdominal courtship behaviors in Drosophila by the Tlx/tailless-like nuclear receptor, Dissatisfaction

This study identifies the role of the dissatisfaction gene (dsf) in regulating sexually dimorphic abdominal courtship behaviors in Drosophila by interacting with doublesex (dsx) in specific neurons.

A novel family of secreted proteins linked to plant gall development

The paper identifies a novel family of secreted proteins, BICYCLE, in aphids that are associated with plant gall development through differential gene expression.

Evolution of mechanisms that control mating in Drosophila males

The paper identifies shared and distinct evolutionary solutions for chemosensory processing and courtship inhibition in two Drosophila species.

Optogenetic dissection of descending behavioral control in Drosophila

This study uses optogenetics to analyze how descending neurons in Drosophila influence behavior by mapping behavioral responses to neuronal activation.

Neural Changes Underlying Rapid Fly Song Evolution

This study identifies neural changes underlying rapid fly song evolution by comparing homologous courtship song neurons between Drosophila species.

Pleiotropy in enhancer function is encoded through diverse genetic architectures

The paper investigates enhancer pleiotropy in D. melanogaster, showing that multiple enhancers of the shavenbaby gene drive expression across tissues and developmental stages through distinct or shared transcription factor binding sites.

Tagmentation-Based Mapping (TagMap) of Mobile DNA Genomic Insertion Sites

The paper introduces TagMap, a method for accurately mapping multiple transposable element insertions in complex genomes using modified tagmentation and PCR.

Genetic and transgenic reagents for Drosophila simulans, D.mauritiana, D. yakuba, D. santomea and D. virilis

The paper describes genetic and transgenic reagents for several Drosophila species to facilitate genetic studies.

Functional regulatory evolution outside of the minimal even-skipped stripe 2 enhancer

The paper shows that regulatory sequences outside a minimal enhancer can drive gene expression in a different species, highlighting functional evolution beyond minimal enhancer regions.