Scripps Research scientists observe human neurodegenerative disorder in f...(y Drosophila melanogaster which caused t...)

Date:6/24/2009

y Drosophila melanogaster, which caused the insect to develop a condition with several of the hallmarks of the human disease. This suggests that Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is related to some fundamental and unknown function the protein plays in the development and homeostasis of the nervous system. Because the unknown function is common to both humans and flies, it probably evolved hundreds of millions of years ago before the ancient ancestors of humans and flies diverged.

What exactly this function is for is still unknown. "That is a great mystery," says Schimmel. He adds that the genetically altered fruit flies are a convenient and powerful model system that may be able to help answer this question.

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Contact: Keith McKeown kmckeown@scripps.edu 858-784-8134 Scripps Research Institute Source:Eurekalert

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