A perspective on Drosophila genetics and its insight into human neurodegenerative disease

• Published in: Frontiers in molecular biosciences 2022-11, Vol.9, p.1060796-1060796
• Main Author: Bonini, Nancy M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: chaperones; disease models; Drosophila; genetic screens; modifier genetics; Molecular Biosciences
• ISSN: 2296-889X; 2296-889X
• DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.1060796

has been long appreciated as a classic genetic system for its ability to define gene function . Within the last several decades, the fly has also emerged as a premiere system for modeling and defining mechanisms of human disease by expressing dominant human disease genes and analyzing the effects. Here I discuss key aspects of this latter approach that first intrigued me to focus my laboratory research on this idea. Differences between the loss-of-function vs. the gain-of-function approach are raised-and the insight of these approaches for appreciating mechanisms that contribute to human neurodegenerative disease. The application of modifier genetics, which is a prominent goal of models of human disease, has implications for how specific genes or pathways intersect with the dominant disease-associated mechanisms. Models of human disease will continue to reveal unanticipated insight into fundamental cellular processes-insight that might be harder to glean from classical genetic methodologies vs modifier genetics of disease.