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Drosophila Melanogaster Model Lab Report

800 Words4 Pages

The model organism used in the O’Sullivan lab:
The O’Sullivan lab has opted to use the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster in order to model HSP. A model organism in which there is a very well conserved homologue to ARL6IP1, CG101026 (Fowler and O’Sullivan 2016). The fruit fly has a number of advantages associated with it as a model organism as for one Drosophila melanogaster has a short life cycle, a rapid generation time and produce a large number of offspring meaning experiments can be performed quite quickly and fly stocks can be maintained inexpensively and easily. In regards to studying neurodegenerative disease specifically, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster possesses a well-established nervous system and although an invertebrate species, possess a ventral nerve cord, which is analogous to the spinal cord with motor neurons that connect from the ventral nerve cord and synapse onto muscles at the neuromuscular junction. Additionally Drosophila melanogaster is a genetically amenable model organism with a relatively small genome with one of the major advantages of using it as a model organism being the fact that …show more content…

With the exploitation of the pan neuronal driver nSyb-GAL4 investigation of the effect of Arl6IP1 knockdown specifically in neurons was enabled. It was found that Arl6IP1 knockdown specifically in neurons had no significant affect on the lifespan of the flies when compared to controls. However using a negative geotaxis assay to investigate the affect Arl6IP1 knockdown on locomotive behaviour it was discovered that the labs model of HSP displayed a progressive neurodegenerative phenotype (Fowler and O’Sullivan 2016). From these findings it was concluded that this model of HSP would prove to be an advantageous model going fourth to further investigate the cause of HSP at the cellular level as this model emulated some of the key characteristics of the human

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Title: Determining Phenotypes of Crosses Between Drosophila Flies Ameena Ahmed, Ishana Fleurant, Aleksandra Drozdziel, and Chelsea Kornfeld. Abstract The purpose of this experiment is to determine phenotypes of 2 separate crosses between Drosophila flies and compare the outcome to the expected results, which should fit the 9:3:3:1 ratio, set up by the law of independent assortment. A vial with a set of 3 male flies with specific characteristics were mated with 3 female flies with distinct characteristics as one of the two crosses; the characteristics were reversed in a separate cross between 3 males and 3 females, each gender with distinct characteristics.

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The species Drosophila Melanogaster was used to test the effects of evolution when it came to selecting against sepia eyed flies. Drosophila Melanogaster or fruit flies were used because of their short reproduction cycle and simplicity. They reproduce and reach maturity fast. In the wild there are two main eye colors for fruit flies red eyes and sepia eyes or dark eyes. The sepia eyes (r) are known to be recessive while the red eyes (R) are dominant.

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The purpose of this experiment was to determine if there is natural selection against blind, white-eyed male Drosophila melanogaster, as well as if there is any interplay between selection and drift occurring in populations of different size. This was done by creating and monitoring both small and large populations and placing them in an environment with regular light or complete darkness. It was predicted that natural selection would occur against white-eyed males in the light trials, but would not occur in the dark trials. This selection would occur on the level of male mating success and be seen in a decline in the frequency of Q in the light trials. It was also predicted that drift would be larger in small populations, which would be seen

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In this experiment, we observe and characterize the phenotype for white eyes (w-) in Drosophila melanogaster in order to determine the pattern of inheritance of the gene, which causes it. As well as this , we attempted to determine the mechanism for this mutation via literature review. The wild-type (w+) phenotype for eye color in D. melanogaster is red, with our mutants being white-eyed. Our initial hypothesis was that white eyes was an X recessive trait based on conclusions from experiments conduced by Thomas H. Morgan in 1909.

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The Drosophila are also an economically viable model that has an adaptable and widespread collection of techniques/procedures for process such as gene functional analysis and gene identification. Flybase is a database of the Drosophila and it contains a wide-ranging assortment of flies which includes mutant strains of flies. Resources such as the flybase make genetic screens (used to identify organisms with interesting phenotypes) more straightforward. Furthermore, it has been established that the fruit flies (Drosophila) have been successfully been a part of research in neuropharmacology. Chemical genetic screening on a fruit fly model of the X syndrome was demonstrated

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Abstract: Drosophila Melanogaster are fruit flies. Previous research has shown that fruit flies are the most logical organism to use to study genetics. This is most likely because they reproduce and regenerate quickly and they are easy and relatively cheap to handle. In our experiment, we observed flies (F2) with unknown phenotypes that we had to discover.

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Parkinson’s has a whole lot to do with dopamine. When there is no dopamine, there is almost nothing. there are some motor reflexes, which explains why all the patients in the movie were able to catch a ball, but not able to seat themselves or eat their own meals. As parkinson’s disease progresses, the amount of dopamine produced in the body decreases, leaving the body unable to move at will and in a catastrophic state. It’s logical to assume that what was also related to the problem in the movie was the very problem of Parkinson’s...lack of

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It is a neurodegenerative disease and is caused by certain nerve cells in the brain dying. These particular neurons produce the dopamine neurotransmitter and when they break down, dopamine levels decrease causing abnormal brain activity. “DBS Therapy uses a small, pacemaker-like device implanted under the skin in the chest (not in the brain). That device sends electronic signals through a very thin wire (called a lead) which is placed in the area of the brain that controls movement. These signals block some of the brain messages that cause the distracting and disabling motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's” (Health Central).

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Despite the fact that watching the slow deterioration has been agonising, I have also found it very captivating as to how such a complex organ can change to a degeneration condition. As a result of this personal experience, my desire to study neuroscience has increased. My obsession with Science has prompted me to study neuroscience and this

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I have a well amount of knowledge about Parkinson disease because my grandfather from my mother side had Parkinson due to a work injury. Parkinson disease includes break downs and death of vital nerve cells in the brain, called neurons. Parkinson 's

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This area of the brain, which is the largest and highest portion, controls all our thought processes, movement, speech, and senses. The decline of brain cells starts in the area of the cortex that is associated with memory and then advances into other areas of the cortex, then into other areas of the brain that control bodily function. The death of the brain cells results in disruption of the electrochemical signals between neurons that are imperative to intellectual activity and bodily functioning. While it is still not yet fully understood by scientists what causes Alzheimer’s disease in a majority of people, scientists have established the root causes of the two forms of Alzheimer’s disease. Early- onset Alzheimer’s which occurs in people age thirty to sixty is caused by genetic mutation.

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