Mutants of the white ABCG Transporter in Drosophila melanogaster Have Deficient Olfactory Learning and Cholesterol Homeostasis.

ABSTRACT: Drosophila's white gene encodes an ATP-binding cassette G-subfamily (ABCG) half-transporter. White is closely related to mammalian ABCG family members that function in cholesterol efflux. Mutants of white have several behavioral phenotypes that are independent of visual defects. This study characterizes a novel defect of white mutants in the acquisition of olfactory memory using the aversive olfactory conditioning paradigm. The w1118 mutants learned slower than wildtype controls, yet with additional training, they reached wildtype levels of performance. The w1118 learning phenotype is also found in the wapricot and wcoral alleles, is dominant, and is rescued by genomic white and mini-white transgenes. Reducing dietary cholesterol strongly impaired olfactory learning for wildtype controls,

SUBMITTER: Myers JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8657504 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature