A gain-of-function screen to identify genes that reduce lifespan in the adult of Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Several lines of evidence associate misregulated genetic expression with risk factors for diabetes, Alzheimer's, and other diseases that sporadically develop in healthy adults with no background of hereditary disorders. Thus, we are interested in genes that may be expressed normally through parts of an individual's life, but can cause physiological defects and disease when misexpressed in adulthood.

Results

We attempted to identify these genes in a model organism by arbitrarily misexpressing specific genes in adult Drosophila melanogaster, using 14,133 Gene Search lines. We identified 39 "reduced-lifespan genes" that, when misexpressed in adulthood, shortened the flies' lifespan to less than 30% of that of control flies. About half of these genes have human orthol

SUBMITTER: Nakayama M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4021436 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature