Abstract
Adult transgenic fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) carrying the human gene coding for the protein α-synuclein were tested for geotactic, locomotor, and phototactic behaviors as well as α-synuclein expression. Specific assays in adult conscious flies can be used to determine geotactic, phototactic, and locomotor behaviors. The presence of endogenous α-synuclein in the fly brain was assessed via immunological blot assays. The expression of monomeric human α-synuclein (19 kDa) in the brain of flies containing the homozygous human UAS wild-type α-synuclein transgene was shown by specific immunological blotting procedures. Behavioral testing indicated that motor rather than sensory functions were principally affected by the presence of α-synuclein, mimicking its effects in Parkinson’s disease. These data illustrate that the human gene coding for α-synuclein can be expressed in the fly and produce behavioral effects in accord with behaviors seen in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Damjanov I (2000) Pathology for the Health Related Professions. Saunders Company
Wakabayashi K, Tanji K, Mori F, Takahashi H (2007) The Lewy body in Parkinson’s disease: molecules implicated in the formation and degradation of a-synuclein aggregates. Neuropathology 27: 494–506
Polymeropoulos MH, Lavedan C, Leroy E, Ide SE, Dehejia A, Dutra A, Pike B, Root H, Rubenstein J, Boyer R, Stenroos ES, Chandrasekharappa S, Athanassiadou A, Papapetropoulos T, Johnson WG, Lazzarini AM, Duvoisin RC, Di Iorio G, Golbe LI, Nussbaum RL (1997) Mutation in the a-synuclein gene identified in families with Parkinson’s disease. Science 276: 2045–2047
Feany MB, Bender WW (2000) A Drosophila model of Parkinson’s disease. Nature 404: 394–398
Kramer JM, Staveley BE (2003) GAL4 causes developmental defects and apoptosis when expressed in the developing eye of Drosophila melanogaster. Genet Mol Res 2: 43–47
Ford SC, Napolitano LM, McRobert SP, Tomkins L (1989) Development of behavioursal competence in young Drosophila melanogaster adults. Journal of Insect Behaviour 2: 575–590
Hillman R, Pendleton RG (2007) Animal Models of Movement Disorders. Elsevier Academic Press
Pendleton RG, Parvez F, Sayed M, Hillman R (2002) Effects of pharmacological agents upon a transgenic model of Parkinson’s disease in Drosophila melanogaster. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 300: 91–96
Gasser T (2007) Update on the genetics of Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord 22 Suppl 17: S343–350
Brand AH, Dormand EL (1995) The GAL4 system as a tool for unravelling the mysteries of the Drosophila nervous system. Curr Opin Neurobiol 5: 572–578
Haywood AF, Staveley BE (2004) Parkin counteracts symptoms in a Drosophila model of Parkinson’s disease. BMC Neurosci 5: 14
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Pendleton, R.G., Yang, X.C., Jerome, N., Dervisha, O., Hillman, R. (2011). Effects of Alpha-Synuclein Expression on Behavioral Activity in Drosophila : A Simple Model of Parkinson’s Disease. In: Lane, E., Dunnett, S. (eds) Animal Models of Movement Disorders. Neuromethods, vol 61. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-298-4_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-298-4_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-297-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-298-4
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols