ENTRIES A–Z
Philip Winn in Dictionary of Biological Psychology, 2003
The genus name of fruit flies. Drosphila melanogaster has been extensively studied as a model animal. It was first studied by Thomas Hunt Morgan in the early years of the twentieth century. Morgan was the first scientist to associate specific GENES with particular CHROMOSOMES, achieved by experimentation on Drosophila melanogaster . It is a species well suited to research in genetics, having only four pairs of chromosomes and, more important perhaps, a 2-week breeding cycle (see Campbell et al, 1999). In biological psychology, research on circadian rhythms (see BIORHYTHMS) has used this fruit fly, associating specific genes with the circadian clock. Research on LEARNING and MEMORY has also employed Drosophila melanogaster . Mutant (see MUTATION) strains (with names such as dunce, cabbage, turnip, rutabaga or DDC-which stands for dopa decarboxylase) have been shown to have specific deficits in learning and memory, and in some cases a mechanism for this has been suggested: for example DDC has a dysfunction in DOPA decarboxylase production, while rutabaga has decreased levels of CYCLIC AMP, which of course impairs neural functioning (see Rosenzweig et al., 1996). Use of simpler species such as Drosophila (and others such as APLYSIAand CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANjSis providing valuable information about the molecular basis of many processes in NEURODEVELOPMENT as well as in biological psychology.
Flies (Nonbiting)
Gail Miriam Moraru, Jerome Goddard in The Goddard Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, Seventh Edition, 2019
Members of the fly family Chloropidae are variously known as eye gnats, grass flies, eye flies, and fruit flies (although other flies are the true fruit flies). There are about 55 general and about 270 described species in the Nearctic region.4,5 Members of the genus Hippelates are troublesome pests that are strongly attracted to the eyes of humans and other animals where they feed on the fluids of the eye surface and tear canal. Other species are attracted to serous discharges from sores, as well as excrement. They do not bite but they do have sponging mouthparts that are “spined”; these spines may cause eye irritation.6 The lesions (minute scratches on the skin or eyeball) that result from these spines are thought to be entry points for disease agents such as that of pinkeye and yaws. Yaws, caused by Treponema pallidum, may cause weeping skin ulcers on the face, back, buttocks, and legs (Figure 20.11). The disease occurs in parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific (approximately 100,000 new cases each year), and is currently targeted for eradication by the World Health Organization using a total community treatment strategy with azithromycin or intramuscular penicillin.7
Central and Peripheral Regulation of Appetite and Food Intake in Drosophila
Ruth B.S. Harris in Appetite and Food Intake, 2017
In fruit flies, the availability of nutrients and their absorption and metabolism are also tightly coordinated via central and peripheral signals. Both fly larvae and adults regulate their circulating sugar levels according to food availability and store excess energy in the form of glycogen and lipids, which can be mobilized according to energetic need (Kim and Rulifson 2004; Gutierrez et al. 2007; Rajan and Perrimon 2012). These processes are performed by genetic, molecular, and organ systems that are analogous to those used by vertebrate systems for nutrient uptake, storage, and metabolism (Rulifson et al. 2002; Kim and Rulifson 2004; Gutierrez et al. 2007; Bland et al. 2010; Rajan and Perrimon 2012) and are converted by the CNS into behavioral modifications via neural mechanisms that are genetically and functionally conserved in vertebrates. Thus, like other animals, flies demonstrate adaptive behavioral responses to food, which are dependent on both their internal satiety status and external sensory cues of food quality and nutritional value, allowing discoveries made in the fly to contribute to our understanding of evolutionarily conserved neural and physiological processes.
Evaluating Water bitter leaf (Struchium sparganophora) and Scent Leaf (Ocimum gratissimum) extracts as sources of nutraceuticals against manganese-induced toxicity in fruit fly model
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2023
Adedayo Oluwaseun Ademiluyi, Opeyemi Babatunde Ogunsuyi, Josephine Oluwaseun Akinduro, Olayemi Philemon Aro, Ganiyu Oboh
The fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), is one of the most studied eukaryotic organisms and has made fundamental contributions to different areas of biology. It has also gained appreciation as a useful animal model of human diseases. Comparative genomic studies estimate that up to 75% of the human genes implicated in diseases are expressed in Drosophila (Ugur et al. 2016). The similarity between human and Drosophila genomes is not limited to only genetic, but also numerous conserved biological mechanisms. The Drosophila genome is smaller in size and has a smaller number of genes compared to the human genome, which facilitates genetic studies. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has proven to be a powerful platform with plenty of amenable genetic techniques to investigate the mechanism of human neurodegenerative diseases (Bilen and Bonini 2005).
Cataglyphis meets Drosophila
Published in Journal of Neurogenetics, 2020
Drosophila has no home to which it regularly returns, nor does it perform large-scale seasonal to-and-from migrations, as several butterfly and moth species do (Mouritsen et al., 2013; Reppert, Guerra, & Merlin, 2016; Warrant et al., 2016; Dreyer et al. 2018). On dispersal, however, fruit flies may move over distances of several kilometers (Carson, 1976; Coyne et al., 1982; Dickinson, 2014). Nevertheless, as it has turned out in the past years, the navigational processes in flies and ants have much more in common than many of us have long thought they would. For example, under laboratory conditions flies display some basic spatial behaviors that might have been co-opted by the ants’ ancestors and built into a more advanced navigational toolset. Let me highlight just three examples.
Effect of Genistein on the Transgenic Drosophila Model of Parkinson's Disease
Published in Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2019
Yasir Hasan Siddique, Falaq Naz, Smita Jyoti, Fahad Ali
Dietary supplementation with flavonoid-rich plants or their extracts as food has resulted in an improvement of cognitive function possibly by protecting vulnerable neurons, enhancing existing neuronal function, or stimulating neuronal regeneration (Vauzour, Vafeiadou, Rodriguez-Mateos, Rendeiro, & Spencer, 2008; Youdim & Joseph, 2001). Currently, L-dopa therapy is in practice for reducing PD symptoms in humans (Riemensperger et al., 2013). However, the therapy does not prevent the worsening of the disease over time (Fahn, 1991). Hence, natural antioxidants could act as useful xenobiotics for delaying PD symptoms. The present study has been carried out on flies. Although fruit flies seem to be unrelated to humans, the fundamental cellular processes and signaling pathways are conserved between the two organisms (Munoz-Soriano & Paricio, 2011). Hence, it is concluded that genistein reduces PD symptoms by diverse mechanisms and may have and wide range of therapeutic or preventive value.
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