Drosophila: Difference between revisions
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''Drosophila melanogaster ''(more commonly known as a fruit fly) is a very useful [[Model organism|model organism]] and has been used for over 80 years in the study of inheritance with their [[Genome]] first sequenced in 2001. They only have four chromosomes with a total genome size of 165Mbp, which encodes for 14000 genes. Drosophila have giant, [[Polytene|polytene]], [[Chromosomes|chromosomes]] which make chromosomal processes easier to study under the microscope. Specific changes in the organisms hereditary information were found to exactly correlate to the alteration or loss of specific giant chromosome bands. This provided proof that units of hereditary information are carried on chromosomes. The Drosphila has also been used to gain further understanding of embryonic development. | ''Drosophila melanogaster ''(more commonly known as a fruit fly) is a very useful [[Model organism|model organism]] and has been used for over 80 years in the study of inheritance with their [[Genome]] first sequenced in 2001. They only have four chromosomes with a total genome size of 165Mbp, which encodes for 14000 genes. ''Drosophila'' have giant, [[Polytene|polytene]], [[Chromosomes|chromosomes]] which make chromosomal processes easier to study under the microscope. Specific changes in the organisms hereditary information were found to exactly correlate to the alteration or loss of specific giant chromosome bands. This provided proof that units of hereditary information are carried on chromosomes. The ''Drosphila'' has also been used to gain further understanding of embryonic development. | ||
< | The use of ''Drosophila'' as a model organism has been used to study a number of human genetic and <u>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurodegeneration neurodegenerative diseases]</u> including <u>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer's_disease Alzheimer's]</u>, <u>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson's_disease Parkinson's]</u> and <u>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntington's_disease Huntington's disease]</u>.<ref>Konsolaki. M (2013) "Fruitful Research: drug target discovery for neurodegenerative diseases in Drosophila." Expert Opinion: Drug Discovery 8: 1503-1513</ref> ''Drosophila'' can be used as a model for these diseases as they contain ~70% of similar disease-causing genes as humans<ref>Bonner. J, Boulianne. G, (2011) "Drosophila as a model to study age-related diseases: Alzheimer's disease" Experimental Gerontology 46:335-339</ref>. Many human genes that encode proteins that result in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases have homologoues in the ''Drosophila''. As a result, human genes can be expressed in the ''Drosophila'' to examine how the proteins affect neurons and their function. | ||
== Developent of ''Drosophila'' == | == Developent of ''Drosophila'' == | ||
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<br> | Bonner. J, Boulianne. G, (2011) "Drosophila as a model to study age-related diseases: Alzheimer's disease" Experimental Gerontology 46:335-339 | ||
Konsolaki. M (2013) "Fruitful Research: drug target discovery for neurodegenerative diseases in Drosophila." Expert Opinion: Drug Discovery 8: 1503-1513<br> | |||
<br><br> | <br><br> | ||
Revision as of 18:28, 27 November 2014
Drosophila melanogaster (more commonly known as a fruit fly) is a very useful model organism and has been used for over 80 years in the study of inheritance with their Genome first sequenced in 2001. They only have four chromosomes with a total genome size of 165Mbp, which encodes for 14000 genes. Drosophila have giant, polytene, chromosomes which make chromosomal processes easier to study under the microscope. Specific changes in the organisms hereditary information were found to exactly correlate to the alteration or loss of specific giant chromosome bands. This provided proof that units of hereditary information are carried on chromosomes. The Drosphila has also been used to gain further understanding of embryonic development.
The use of Drosophila as a model organism has been used to study a number of human genetic and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease.[1] Drosophila can be used as a model for these diseases as they contain ~70% of similar disease-causing genes as humans[2]. Many human genes that encode proteins that result in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases have homologoues in the Drosophila. As a result, human genes can be expressed in the Drosophila to examine how the proteins affect neurons and their function.
Developent of Drosophila
During the development of Drosophila larvae, the four of the Drosophila have a dinstinctive banding pattern that makes it possible to observe large-scale chromosomal alterations. The development of Drosophila produces body segments in an anterior-posterior order that is similar to the basic body plan that is common to invertabrates and vertabrates. As a result of this, a lot of the knowledge around body development has been learnt from the fruit fly.[3]
References
- ↑ Konsolaki. M (2013) "Fruitful Research: drug target discovery for neurodegenerative diseases in Drosophila." Expert Opinion: Drug Discovery 8: 1503-1513
- ↑ Bonner. J, Boulianne. G, (2011) "Drosophila as a model to study age-related diseases: Alzheimer's disease" Experimental Gerontology 46:335-339
- ↑ Griffiths A, Wessler S, Carroll S, Doebley J. (2000) Introduction to genetic analysis, 10th edition, New York: W.H. Freeman.
Bonner. J, Boulianne. G, (2011) "Drosophila as a model to study age-related diseases: Alzheimer's disease" Experimental Gerontology 46:335-339
Konsolaki. M (2013) "Fruitful Research: drug target discovery for neurodegenerative diseases in Drosophila." Expert Opinion: Drug Discovery 8: 1503-1513