A Novel, Sensitive Assay for Behavioral Defects in Parkinson's Disease Model Drosophila

Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder with the pathology of α-synuclein aggregation in Lewy bodies. Currently, there is no available therapy that arrests the progression of the disease. Therefore, the need of animal models to follow α-synuclein aggregation is crucial. Droso...

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Main Authors: Ronit Shaltiel-Karyo, Dan Davidi, Yotam Menuchin, Moran Frenkel-Pinter, Mira Marcus-Kalish, John Ringo, Ehud Gazit, Daniel Segal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:Parkinson's Disease
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/697564
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author Ronit Shaltiel-Karyo
Dan Davidi
Yotam Menuchin
Moran Frenkel-Pinter
Mira Marcus-Kalish
John Ringo
Ehud Gazit
Daniel Segal
author_facet Ronit Shaltiel-Karyo
Dan Davidi
Yotam Menuchin
Moran Frenkel-Pinter
Mira Marcus-Kalish
John Ringo
Ehud Gazit
Daniel Segal
author_sort Ronit Shaltiel-Karyo
collection DOAJ
description Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder with the pathology of α-synuclein aggregation in Lewy bodies. Currently, there is no available therapy that arrests the progression of the disease. Therefore, the need of animal models to follow α-synuclein aggregation is crucial. Drosophila melanogaster has been researched extensively as a good genetic model for the disease, with a cognitive phenotype of defective climbing ability. The assay for climbing ability has been demonstrated as an effective tool for screening new therapeutic agents for Parkinson's disease. However, due to the assay's many limitations, there is a clear need to develop a better behavioral test. Courtship, a stereotyped, ritualized behavior of Drosophila, involves complex motor and sensory functions in both sexes, which are controlled by large number of neurons; hence, behavior observed during courtship should be sensitive to disease processes in the nervous system. We used a series of traits commonly observed in courtship and an additional behavioral trait—nonsexual encounters—and analyzed them using a data mining tool. We found defective behavior of the Parkinson's model male flies that were tested with virgin females, visible at a much younger age than the climbing defects. We conclude that this is an improved behavioral assay for Parkinson's model flies.
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issn 2090-8083
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publishDate 2012-01-01
publisher Wiley
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series Parkinson's Disease
spelling doaj-art-711965cae23a4f99a426882e84fba9702025-08-20T03:33:57ZengWileyParkinson's Disease2090-80832042-00802012-01-01201210.1155/2012/697564697564A Novel, Sensitive Assay for Behavioral Defects in Parkinson's Disease Model DrosophilaRonit Shaltiel-Karyo0Dan Davidi1Yotam Menuchin2Moran Frenkel-Pinter3Mira Marcus-Kalish4John Ringo5Ehud Gazit6Daniel Segal7Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, IsraelDepartment of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, IsraelDepartment of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, IsraelDepartment of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, IsraelInterdisciplinary Center for Technology Analysis & Forecasting (ICTAF), Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, IsraelSchool of Biology, The University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USADepartment of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, IsraelDepartment of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, IsraelParkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder with the pathology of α-synuclein aggregation in Lewy bodies. Currently, there is no available therapy that arrests the progression of the disease. Therefore, the need of animal models to follow α-synuclein aggregation is crucial. Drosophila melanogaster has been researched extensively as a good genetic model for the disease, with a cognitive phenotype of defective climbing ability. The assay for climbing ability has been demonstrated as an effective tool for screening new therapeutic agents for Parkinson's disease. However, due to the assay's many limitations, there is a clear need to develop a better behavioral test. Courtship, a stereotyped, ritualized behavior of Drosophila, involves complex motor and sensory functions in both sexes, which are controlled by large number of neurons; hence, behavior observed during courtship should be sensitive to disease processes in the nervous system. We used a series of traits commonly observed in courtship and an additional behavioral trait—nonsexual encounters—and analyzed them using a data mining tool. We found defective behavior of the Parkinson's model male flies that were tested with virgin females, visible at a much younger age than the climbing defects. We conclude that this is an improved behavioral assay for Parkinson's model flies.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/697564
spellingShingle Ronit Shaltiel-Karyo
Dan Davidi
Yotam Menuchin
Moran Frenkel-Pinter
Mira Marcus-Kalish
John Ringo
Ehud Gazit
Daniel Segal
A Novel, Sensitive Assay for Behavioral Defects in Parkinson's Disease Model Drosophila
Parkinson's Disease
title A Novel, Sensitive Assay for Behavioral Defects in Parkinson's Disease Model Drosophila
title_full A Novel, Sensitive Assay for Behavioral Defects in Parkinson's Disease Model Drosophila
title_fullStr A Novel, Sensitive Assay for Behavioral Defects in Parkinson's Disease Model Drosophila
title_full_unstemmed A Novel, Sensitive Assay for Behavioral Defects in Parkinson's Disease Model Drosophila
title_short A Novel, Sensitive Assay for Behavioral Defects in Parkinson's Disease Model Drosophila
title_sort novel sensitive assay for behavioral defects in parkinson s disease model drosophila
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/697564
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