scholarly journals Exploiting the Fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, to Identify the Molecular Basis of Cryptochrome-Dependent Magnetosensitivity

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-136
Author(s):  
Adam Bradlaugh ◽  
Anna L. Munro ◽  
Alex R. Jones ◽  
Richard A. Baines
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Molecular Basis ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Radical Pair ◽  
Quantum Effect ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Test Tube ◽  
Model System ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
Made In

The flavoprotein CRYPTOCHROME (CRY) is now generally believed to be a magnetosensor, providing geomagnetic information via a quantum effect on a light-initiated radical pair reaction. Whilst there is considerable physical and behavioural data to support this view, the precise molecular basis of animal magnetosensitivity remains frustratingly unknown. A key reason for this is the difficulty in combining molecular and behavioural biological experiments with the sciences of magnetics and spin chemistry. In this review, we highlight work that has utilised the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, which provides a highly tractable genetic model system that offers many advantages for the study of magnetosensitivity. Using this “living test-tube”, significant progress has been made in elucidating the molecular basis of CRY-dependent magnetosensitivity.

scholarly journals The Intestine of Drosophila melanogaster: An Emerging Versatile Model System to Study Intestinal Epithelial Homeostasis and Host-Microbial Interactions in Humans

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Capo ◽  
Alexa Wilson ◽  
Francesca Di Cara
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Cell Lineage ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Model System ◽  
Microbial Interactions ◽  
Stem Cell Lineage ◽  
Bowel Diseases

In all metazoans, the intestinal tract is an essential organ to integrate nutritional signaling, hormonal cues and immunometabolic networks. The dysregulation of intestinal epithelium functions can impact organism physiology and, in humans, leads to devastating and complex diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, intestinal cancers, and obesity. Two decades ago, the discovery of an immune response in the intestine of the genetic model system, Drosophila melanogaster, sparked interest in using this model organism to dissect the mechanisms that govern gut (patho) physiology in humans. In 2007, the finding of the intestinal stem cell lineage, followed by the development of tools available for its manipulation in vivo, helped to elucidate the structural organization and functions of the fly intestine and its similarity with mammalian gastrointestinal systems. To date, studies of the Drosophila gut have already helped to shed light on a broad range of biological questions regarding stem cells and their niches, interorgan communication, immunity and immunometabolism, making the Drosophila a promising model organism for human enteric studies. This review summarizes our current knowledge of the structure and functions of the Drosophila melanogaster intestine, asserting its validity as an emerging model system to study gut physiology, regeneration, immune defenses and host-microbiota interactions.

scholarly journals The Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster as a Model System to Study Cholesterol Metabolism and Homeostasis

Cholesterol ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryusuke Niwa ◽  
Yuko S. Niwa
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Steroid Hormones ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cholesterol Metabolism ◽  
Cholesterol Biosynthesis ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Model System ◽  
Biophysical Properties ◽  
Type C ◽  
Niemann Pick

Cholesterol has long been recognized for its versatile roles in influencing the biophysical properties of cell membranes and for serving as a precursor of steroid hormones. While many aspects of cholesterol biosynthesis are well understood, little is currently known about the molecular mechanisms of cholesterol metabolism and homeostasis. Recently, genetic approaches in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, have been successfully used for the analysis of molecular mechanisms that regulate cholesterol metabolism and homeostasis. This paper summarizes the recent studies on genes that regulate cholesterol metabolism and homeostasis, including neverland, Niemann Pick type C(NPC) disease genes, and DHR96.

scholarly journals Programmed cell death takes flight: genetic and genomic approaches to gene discovery in Drosophila

2002 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Gorski ◽  
M. Marra
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Programmed Cell Death ◽  
Gene Discovery ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Model System ◽  
Physiological Process ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Cell Death Gene ◽  
Genetics And Genomics

Programmed cell death (PCD) is an essential and wide-spread physiological process that results in the elimination of cells. Genes required to carry out this process have been identified, and many of these remain the subjects of intense investigation. Here, we describe PCD, its functions, and some of the consequences when it goes awry. We review PCD in the model system, the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, with a particular emphasis on cell death gene discovery resulting from both genetics and genomics-based approaches.

scholarly journals Genomic instability and cancer: lessons from Drosophila

Open Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 200060
Author(s):  
Stephan U. Gerlach ◽  
Héctor Herranz
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Genomic Instability ◽  
Genetic Disease ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Model System ◽  
Human Tumours ◽  
Gradual Accumulation

Cancer is a genetic disease that involves the gradual accumulation of mutations. Human tumours are genetically unstable. However, the current knowledge about the origins and implications of genomic instability in this disease is limited. Understanding the biology of cancer requires the use of animal models. Here, we review relevant studies addressing the implications of genomic instability in cancer by using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster , as a model system. We discuss how this invertebrate has helped us to expand the current knowledge about the mechanisms involved in genomic instability and how this hallmark of cancer influences disease progression.

scholarly journals Modeling Neurodegenerative Disorders in Drosophila melanogaster

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harris Bolus ◽  
Kassi Crocker ◽  
Grace Boekhoff-Falk ◽  
Stanislava Chtarbanova
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorders ◽  
Recent Progress ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Model System ◽  
Neural Regeneration ◽  
Future Treatments ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Drosophila Models

Drosophila melanogaster provides a powerful genetic model system in which to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we discuss recent progress in Drosophila modeling Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Huntington’s Disease, Ataxia Telangiectasia, and neurodegeneration related to mitochondrial dysfunction or traumatic brain injury. We close by discussing recent progress using Drosophila models of neural regeneration and how these are likely to provide critical insights into future treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.

scholarly journals Neural basis of hunger-driven behaviour in Drosophila

Open Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 180259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suewei Lin ◽  
Bhagyashree Senapati ◽  
Chang-Hui Tsao
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Model System ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Motivational State ◽  
Psychological Sense ◽  
Food Seeking ◽  
Behavioural Repertoire ◽  
Feeding Behaviours

Hunger is a motivational state that drives eating and food-seeking behaviour. In a psychological sense, hunger sets the goal that guides an animal in the pursuit of food. The biological basis underlying this purposive, goal-directed nature of hunger has been under intense investigation. With its rich behavioural repertoire and genetically tractable nervous system, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has emerged as an excellent model system for studying the neural basis of hunger and hunger-driven behaviour. Here, we review our current understanding of how hunger is sensed, encoded and translated into foraging and feeding behaviours in the fruit fly.

scholarly journals Drosophila CaV2 channels harboring human migraine mutations cause synapse hyperexcitability that can be suppressed by inhibition of a Ca2+ store release pathway

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas J. Brusich ◽  
Ashlyn M. Spring ◽  
Thomas D. James ◽  
Catherine J. Yeates ◽  
Timothy H. Helms ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Familial Hemiplegic Migraine ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Gain Of Function ◽  
Hemiplegic Migraine ◽  
Intracellular Ca

ABSTRACTGain-of-function mutations in the human CaV2.1 gene CACNA1A cause familial hemiplegic migraine type 1 (FHM1). To characterize cellular problems potentially triggered by CaV2.1 gains of function, we engineered mutations encoding FHM1 amino-acid substitutions S218L (SL) and R192Q (RQ) into transgenes of Drosophila melanogaster CaV2/cacophony. We expressed the transgenes pan-neuronally. Phenotypes were mild for RQ-expressing animals. By contrast, single mutant SL- and complex allele RQ,SL-expressing animals showed overt phenotypes, including sharply decreased viability. By electrophysiology, SL- and RQ,SL-expressing neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) exhibited enhanced evoked discharges, supernumerary discharges, and an increase in the amplitudes and frequencies of spontaneous events. Some spontaneous events were gigantic (10-40 mV), multi-quantal events. Gigantic spontaneous events were eliminated by application of TTX – or by lowered or chelated Ca2+ – suggesting that gigantic events were elicited by spontaneous nerve firing. A follow-up genetic approach revealed that some neuronal hyperexcitability phenotypes were reversed after knockdown or mutation of Drosophila homologs of phospholipase Cβ (PLCβ), IP3 receptor, or ryanodine receptor (RyR) – all factors known to mediate Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Pharmacological inhibitors of intracellular Ca2+ store release produced similar effects. Interestingly, however, the decreased viability phenotype was not reversed by genetic impairment of intracellular Ca2+ release factors. On a cellular level, our data suggest inhibition of signaling that triggers intracellular Ca2+ release could counteract hyperexcitability induced by gains of CaV2.1 function.AUTHOR SUMMARYPrior research has demonstrated that gain-of-function mutations in a gene important for neurotransmission (CACNA1A) are known to cause migraine in humans. We attempted to mimic some of those gain-of-function mutations in a simple genetic model organism and to examine neurotransmission by electrophysiology. Our findings yield potential clues as to how particular migraine-causing mutations may impact neurophysiology on a cellular level. We used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and its model synapse, the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) to perform our studies. We document three main advances: 1) characterization of fruit fly models harboring gain-of-function calcium channel alterations known to cause human familial hemiplegic migraine type 1 (FHM1); 2) characterization of hyperactive neurotransmission caused by one of these alterations; and 3) an ability to quell hyperactive neurotransmission by impairing intracellular Ca2+ store release, through both genetic and pharmacological means. Our work contributes to a broader understanding of how pathological mutations could impact cellular physiology. More generally, the utilization of genetic model organisms promises to uncover potential ways to reverse those impacts.

scholarly journals Rest is Required to Learn an Appetitively-Reinforced Operant Task in Drosophila

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy D. Wiggin ◽  
Yung-Yi Hsiao ◽  
Jeffrey B. Liu ◽  
Robert Huber ◽  
Leslie C. Griffith
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Operant Conditioning ◽  
Food Reward ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Operant Task ◽  
Insight Into

ABSTRACTMaladaptive operant conditioning contributes to development of neuropsychiatric disorders. Candidate genes have been identified that contribute to this maladaptive plasticity, but the neural basis of operant conditioning in genetic model organisms remains poorly understood. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a versatile genetic model organism that readily forms operant associations with punishment stimuli. However, operant conditioning with a food reward has not been demonstrated in flies, limiting the types of neural circuits that can be studied. Here we present the first sucrose-reinforced operant conditioning paradigm for flies. Flies of both sexes walk along a Y-shaped track with reward locations at the terminus of each hallway. When flies turn in the reinforced direction at the center of the track, sucrose is presented at the end of the hallway. Only flies that rest during training show evidence of learning the reward contingency. Flies rewarded independently of their behavior do not form a learned association but have the same amount of rest as trained flies, showing that rest is not driven by learning. Optogenetically-induced rest does not promote learning, indicating that rest is not sufficient for learning the operant task. We validated the sensitivity of this assay to detect the effect of genetic manipulations by testing the classic learning mutant dunce. Dunce flies are learning impaired in the Y-Track task, indicating a likely role for cAMP in the operant coincidence detector. This novel training paradigm will provide valuable insight into the molecular mechanisms of disease and the link between sleep and learning.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTOperant conditioning and mental health are deeply intertwined: maladaptive conditioning contributes to many pathologies, while therapeutic operant conditioning is a frequently used tool in talk therapy. Unlike drug interventions which target molecules or mechanisms, it is not known how operant conditioning changes the brain to promote wellness or distress. To gain mechanistic insight into how this form of learning works, we developed a novel operant training task for the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. We made three key discoveries. First, flies are able to learn an operant task to find food reward. Second, rest during training is necessary for learning. Third, the dunce gene is necessary for both classical and operant conditioning in flies, indicating that they may share molecular mechanisms.

scholarly journals Drosophila melanogaster as a model host to study arbovirus–vector interaction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandar S. Paingankar ◽  
Mangesh D. Gokhale ◽  
Deepti D. Deobagkar ◽  
Dileep N. Deobagkar
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Potential Model ◽  
Binding Assay ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Model System ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Arbovirus Vector ◽  
Vector Interaction ◽  
Molecular Events ◽  
Protein Binding Assay

ABSTRACTArboviruses cause the most devastating diseases in humans and animals worldwide. Several hundred arbovirus are transmitted by mosquitoes, sand flies or ticks and are responsible for more than million deaths annually. Development of a model system is essential to extrapolate the molecular events occurring during infection in the human and mosquito host. Virus overlay protein binding assay (VOPBA) combined with MALDI TOF/TOF MS revealed that Dengue-2 virus (DENV-2) exploits similar protein molecules in Drosophila melanogaster and Aedes aegypti for its infection. Furthermore, the virus susceptibility studies revealed that DENV-2 could propagate in D. melanogaster, and DENV-2 produced in fruit fly is equally infectious to D. melanogaster and Ae. aegypti. Additionally, real time PCR analysis revealed that RNAi coupled with JAK-STAT and Toll pathway constitutes an effector mechanism to control the DENV-2 infection in flies. These observations point out that D. melanogaster harbors all necessary machineries to support the growth of arboviruses. With the availability of well-established techniques for genetic and developmental manipulations, D. melanogaster, offers itself as the potential model system for the study of arbovirus-vector interactions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document