The fly as a discovery platform

To identify the pathways that regulate TDP-43 toxicity  we take advantage of the well-established and versatile genetics of Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as the fly. When TDP-43 is expresesd in the fly eye,  it  changes the eye structure in a way that closely resembles dying brain cells in human disease. We call this fly a disease model (see here for a review on Drosophila as a model for human neurodegenerative disease). We then carry out genetic-modifier screens to identify genes and pathways that can alter the eye structure of the disease model: i.e. make the eye structure better or worse.  We tease out  newly discovered interactions by applying biochemistry and molecular biology techniques to the fly and translate our findings into mammalian and in vitro protein systems.

For a detailed description of the above image click here.