Animals ; Codon, Nonsense ; Disease ; genetics ; Drosophila ; genetics ; metabolism ; Drosophila Proteins ; genetics ; Humans ; Pseudogenes ; Receptors, Odorant ; genetics

Animals ; Drosophila Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Drosophila melanogaster ; Memory ; physiology ; Mushroom Bodies ; cytology ; metabolism ; Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system, affecting 1 in 50 people over the age of 60 years. PD is the result of loss of a majority of dopamine (DA) neurons in the midbrain substantia nigra. The basic pathological feature of PD is the formation of intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusion bodies, Lewy bodies. So far, what leads to DA neuron degeneration is uncertain. Thirteen familial PD related loci have been identified, including six mutations:α-SYN(PARK1/4), Parkin(PARK2), UCHL1(PARK5), PINK1(PARK6), DJ-1(PARK7) and LRRK2 (PARK8). Drosophila has been widely used in the study of human diseases because of its genetic advantages. The Drosophila DA synthesis is similar to human, and Drosophila DA system is also involved in motion control, so it is generally considered that DA neuron death of Drosophila can be a perfect model of PD. In this article we review the progress of research methods based on Drosophila model in study of mechanisms related to Parkinson's disease.
Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drosophila ; genetics ; Humans ; Mutation ; Parkinson Disease

The gastrointestinal tract is the largest digestive organ and the largest immune organ and detoxification organ, which is vital to the health of the body. Drosophila is a classic model organism, and its gut is highly similar to mammalian gut in terms of cell composition and genetic regulation, therefore can be used as a good model for studying gut development. target of rapmaycin complex 1 (TORC1) is a key factor regulating cellular metabolism. Nprl2 inhibits TORC1 activity by reducing Rag GTPase activity. Previous studies have found that nprl2 mutated Drosophila showed aging-related phenotypes such as enlarged foregastric and reduced lifespan, which were caused by over-activation of TORC1. In order to explore the role of Rag GTPase in the developmental defects of the gut of nprl2 mutated Drosophila, we used genetic hybridization combined with immunofluorescence to study the intestinal morphology and intestinal cell composition of RagA knockdown and nprl2 mutated Drosophila. The results showed that RagA knockdown alone could induce intestinal thickening and forestomach enlargement, suggesting that RagA also plays an important role in intestinal development. Knockdown of RagA rescued the phenotype of intestinal thinning and decreased secretory cells in nprl2 mutants, suggesting that Nprl2 may regulate the differentiation and morphology of intestinal cells by acting on RagA. Knockdown of RagA did not rescue the enlarged forestomach phenotype in nprl2 mutants, suggesting that Nprl2 may regulate forestomach development and intestinal digestive function through a mechanism independent of Rag GTPase.
Animals ; Drosophila/genetics* ; Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1/metabolism* ; Mammals/metabolism* ; Carrier Proteins ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins/metabolism* ; Drosophila Proteins/genetics*

RecQ5 in mammalian cells has been suggested to suppress inappropriate homologous recombination. However, the specific pathway(s) in which it is involved and the underlining mechanism(s) remain poorly understood. We took advantage of genetic tools in Drosophila to investigate how Drosophila RecQ5 (dRecQ5) functions in vivo in homologous recombination-mediated double strand break (DSB) repair. We generated null alleles of dRecQ5 using the targeted recombination technique. The mutant animals are homozygous viable, but with growth retardation during development. The mutants are sensitive to both exogenous DSB-inducing treatment, such as gamma-irradiation, and endogenously induced double strand breaks (DSBs) by I-Sce I endonuclease. In the absence of dRecQ5, single strand annealing (SSA)-mediated DSB repair is compromised with compensatory increases in either inter-homologous gene conversion, or non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) when inter-chromosomal homologous sequence is unavailable. Loss of function of dRecQ5 also leads to genome instability in loss of heterozygosity (LOH) assays. Together, our data demonstrate that dRecQ5 functions in SSA-mediated DSB repair to achieve its full efficiency and in suppression of LOH in Drosophila.
Animals ; DNA Repair ; genetics ; DNA, Single-Stranded ; genetics ; Drosophila Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Drosophila melanogaster ; genetics ; metabolism ; Loss of Heterozygosity ; genetics ; RecQ Helicases ; genetics ; metabolism

Animals ; Drosophila ; genetics ; Drosophila Proteins ; genetics ; Genome, Insect ; Hedgehog Proteins ; genetics ; Humans ; Models, Animal ; Obesity ; genetics ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics

Dopamine is the precursor of a variety of natural antioxidant compounds. In the body, dopamine acts as a neurotransmitter that regulates a variety of physiological functions of the central nervous system. Thus, dopamine is used for the clinical treatment of various types of shock. Dopamine could be produced by engineered microbes, but with low efficiency. In this study, DOPA decarboxylase gene from Sus scrofa (Ssddc) was cloned into plasmids with different copy numbers, and transformed into a previously developed L-DOPA producing strain Escherichia coli T004. The resulted strain was capable of producing dopamine from glucose directly. To further improve the production of dopamine, a sequence-based homology alignment mining (SHAM) strategy was applied to screen more efficient DOPA decarboxylases, and five DOPA decarboxylase genes were selected from 100 candidates. In shake-flask fermentation, the DOPA decarboxylase gene from Homo sapiens (Hsddc) showed the highest dopamine production (3.33 g/L), while the DOPA decarboxylase gene from Drosophila Melanogaster (Dmddc) showed the least residual L-DOPA concentration (0.02 g/L). In 5 L fed-batch fermentations, production of dopamine by the two engineered strains reached 13.3 g/L and 16.2 g/L, respectively. The residual concentrations of L-DOPA were 0.45 g/L and 0.23 g/L, respectively. Finally, the Ssddc and Dmddc genes were integrated into the genome of E. coli T004 to obtain genetically stable dopamine-producing strains. In 5 L fed-batch fermentation, 17.7 g/L of dopamine was produced, which records the highest titer reported to date.
Animals ; Dopa Decarboxylase/genetics* ; Dopamine/biosynthesis* ; Drosophila melanogaster/genetics* ; Escherichia coli/metabolism* ; Humans ; Metabolic Engineering

OBJECTIVETo study the molecular mechanisms of inherited antithrombin (AT) deficiency caused by AT L99 mutation.

METHODSWild type (WT), L99V, L99A, L99I and L99S AT were purified from drosophila expression system. The binding capacity of AT and the low molecular weight heparin sodium was analyzed by the heparin binding assay. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was used to detect the binding ability of AT to thrombin (FIIa) or AT to coagulation factor Xa (FXa). The activity of AT(AT∶A)was detected by chromogenic assay.

RESULTSThe purified WT and mutant AT were at the same size. No additional band was observed by coomassie blue staining and western blot assay. Compared to the WT AT, the binding abilities of the low molecular weight heparin sodium to the AT L99V, L99A, L99I and L99S were (44.8±3.6)%, (118.9±14.0)%, (15.2±8.8)%, and(23.0±8.2)%, respectively. The binding abilities of FIIa to AT L99V, L99A, L99I and L99S were 13%, 57%, 3%, and 29%, while the binding of FXa to AT L99V, L99A, L99I and L99S were 7%, 51%, 1%, and 25%. The AT∶A of WT, L99V, L99A, L99I and L99S AT were 146.5%, 21.4%, 120.9%, 10.8%, and 39.0%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe binding abilities of AT to heparin, FIIa and FXa were damaged by the L99 mutation, which resulted in decreased AT∶A and inherited AT deficiency.

Amino Acids ; genetics ; Animals ; Antithrombin III ; genetics ; Antithrombin III Deficiency ; genetics ; Antithrombins ; Drosophila ; Factor Xa ; genetics ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Mutation

Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis is characterized by senile plaques in the brain and evidence of oxidative damage. Oxidative stress may precede plaque formation in AD; however, the link between oxidative damage and plaque formation remains unknown. Presenilins are transmembrane proteins in which mutations lead to accelerated plaque formation and early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease. Presenilins physically interact with two antioxidant enzymes thiol-specific antioxidant (TSA) and proliferation-associated gene (PAG) of the peroxiredoxin family. The functional consequences of these interactions are unclear. In the current study we expressed a presenilin transgene in Drosophila wing and sensory organ precursors of the fly. This caused phenotypes typical of Notch signaling loss-of-function mutations. We found that while expression of TSA or PAG alone produced no phenotype, co-expression of TSA and PAG with presenilin led to an enhanced Notch loss-of-function phenotype. This phenotype was more severe and more penetrant than that caused by the expression of Psn alone. In order to determine whether these phenotypes were indeed affecting Notch signaling, this experiment was performed in a genetic background carrying an activated Notch (Abruptex) allele. The phenotypes were almost completely rescued by this activated Notch allele. These results link peroxiredoxins with the in vivo function of Presenilin, which ultimately connects two key pathogenetic mechanisms in AD, namely, antioxidant activity and plaque formation, and raises the possibility of a role for peroxiredoxin family members in Alzheimer's pathogenesis.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Drosophila ; metabolism ; physiology ; Drosophila Proteins ; metabolism ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Peroxiredoxins ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Presenilins ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Receptors, Notch ; metabolism ; Sequence Alignment ; Signal Transduction

In most insects, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are mainly polyunsaturated fatty acids with a carbon-chain length less than 18 carbon atoms, hardly any long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as C20 and C22 that are more valuable and bioactive. This study, by using Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly) as a model organism, optimized the Δ6-fatty acid elongase enzyme Elovl5 gene from mice and transferred it to fruit flies for expression. Vectors containing Elovl5 gene were successfully injected into drosophila embryo through the microscopic injection. There were enhanced green fluorescent proteins expressed in the whole developmental stage of Drosophila be means of fluorescence microscope. At the same time, expression of Elovl5 gene significantly contributed to the transformation of fruit flies C18-polyunsaturated fatty acids in the body towards the biosynthesis of longer-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. The transgenic fruit fly model rich in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as C20 and C22 were obtained, providing a basis for further research on biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids in fruit flies.
Acetyltransferases/genetics* ; Animals ; Drosophila melanogaster/genetics* ; Fatty Acid Elongases/metabolism* ; Fatty Acids/genetics* ; Gene Transfer Techniques ; Mice