Drosophila melanogaster: a promising model system for epigenetic research

Epigenetics refers to the study of heritable phenotypic changes without alterations in the DNA sequence. Advanced studies in epigenetic molecular mechanisms and their biological functions have relied on various model systems including bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, and mammals. The fruit fly Dros...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological rhythm research 2022-03, Vol.53 (3), p.382-400
Main Authors: Saravanan, K.A., Kumar, Harshit, Chhotaray, Supriya, Preethi, A. Latha, Talokar, Amol J., Natarajan, A., Parida, Subhashree, Bhushan, Bharat, Panigrahi, Manjit
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetylation
Aging
Carcinogenesis
Circadian rhythm
Circadian rhythms
Developmental biology
DNA methylation
Dosage compensation
Drosophila
Drosophila melanogaster
Epigenetics
Genomic imprinting
histone modifications
Histones
Insects
Molecular modelling
Nucleotide sequence
Phosphorylation
Polycomb group proteins
Position-effect variegation
RNA-mediated interference
SUMO protein
Ubiquitin
Variegation
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Summary:Epigenetics refers to the study of heritable phenotypic changes without alterations in the DNA sequence. Advanced studies in epigenetic molecular mechanisms and their biological functions have relied on various model systems including bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, and mammals. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been an established model organism in the study of genetics and developmental biology. Many regulatory pathways are conserved in Drosophila compared to mammals, rendering it a powerful model to study epigenetic mechanisms. In this review, we outline the various epigenetic mechanisms and their importance in Drosophila chiefly focussing on the predominant epigenetic variations such as DNA methylation, histone modifications like H3K18 acetylation, H3K27 and H4K20 methylation, H3S10 phosphorylation, H2K118 ubiquitylation, H4 sumoylation, RNA associated silencing, polycomb proteins, PEV (position effect variegation), TPE (Telomeric position effect), and dosage compensation. All these types of epigenetic mechanisms can be studied precisely in Drosophila by inducing various mutations in the genome. Advanced studies in Drosophila epigenetics helps to understand genomic imprinting, neurological memory, circadian rhythms, aging, and carcinogenesis.
ISSN:0929-1016
1744-4179
DOI:10.1080/09291016.2019.1685216