Neurodegeneration in drop-dead mutant drosophila melanogaster is associated with the respiratory system but not with Hypoxia.

ABSTRACT: Mutations in the gene drop-dead (drd) cause diverse phenotypes in adult Drosophila melanogaster including early lethality, neurodegeneration, tracheal defects, gut dysfunction, reduced body mass, and female sterility. Despite the identification of the drd gene itself, the causes of early lethality and neurodegeneration in the mutant flies remain unknown. To determine the pattern of drd expression associated with the neurodegenerative phenotype, knockdown of drd with various Gal4 drivers was performed. Early adult lethality and neurodegeneration were observed upon knockdown of drd in the tracheal system with two independent insertions of the breathless-Gal4 driver and upon knockdown in the tracheal system and elsewhere with the DJ717-Gal4 driver. Surprisingly, rescue of drd expression exclu

SUBMITTER: Sansone CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3707901 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature