February 27, 2017 by Allison Mills Drosophila guttifera is another species Thomas Werner studies in his genetics lab. Credit: Thomas Werner <\/p>\n
Pulling data from 180 different lines of fruit flies, researchers from Michigan Technological University compared resistance to a toxin found in mushrooms like the Death Cap and Destroying Angel. Their results were published by PLOS ONE this week. <\/p>\n
The team's main finding is the genetic mechanisms that control the toxin resistance correspond to the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway that regulates cell physiology and metabolism in humans and other mammals. The findings could open up new possibilities for studying cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression and neurodegenerative diseases. <\/p>\n
Alpha-amanitin Resistance <\/p>\n
Not all fruit flies come into the kitchen on grocery store bananas; not all fruit flies like mushrooms. With a surprising amount of diversity, fruit fly species have adapted many niche preferences, such as a tolerance for alpha-amanitin, or alpha-amanitin, a toxin found in the Amanita genus of poisonous mushrooms. <\/p>\n
Thomas Werner, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Michigan Tech, is the corresponding author of the new PLOS ONE paper, and the study builds on his previous work showing how alpha-amanitin resistance may be related to pesticide resistance in Asian fruit fly strains. Ever since, he and his team have worked on figuring out how fruit flies build resistance to the toxins and the resistance's effects on longevity. <\/p>\n
\"We found that there are multiple mechanisms that make sense,\" Werner says, explaining that the mechanisms focused on the genetic regulation of detoxification enzymes. \"And the more resistant the fruit flies were, the longer they lived.\" <\/p>\n
Initially, the team looked at a single, highly resistant strain of Drosophila melanogaster from Taiwan. Then they pulled in 180 lines of fruit flies collected at a Raleigh, North Carolina farmer's market for comparison. The crew relied on nearly 30 undergraduates to help do prep in the lab; eight are co-authors on the paper. <\/p>\n
mTOR Pathway <\/p>\n
Werner's team used genome-wide association mapping to help connect the dots between varying levels of fruit fly resistance. By putting big data techniques to work, they were able to screen genetic traits and nucleotide sequences to better discern candidate genes that control the toxin resistance. <\/p>\n
\"To do the analysis, we decide on a trait, which we will test in all 180 lines,\" Werner says. \"We selected mushroom toxin resistance and found continuous variation in the lines.\" <\/p>\n
From there, the data are sorted into two columns. Werner and his team then had to look for corresponding sequences of genetic codelike an elaborate children's matching game. The result: the matches kept pointing to the mTOR pathway, which is shared among mammals and insects. <\/p>\n
\"It's a central metabolic pathway that is very complicatedit's a key hub that is being widely researched right now,\" Werner says. <\/p>\n
This initial connection to mTOR opens up many new lines of study, particularly in human health. Werner also says digging deeper into why fruit flies evolve this resistance could shed light on its advantage as a pre-adaptation device. A better understanding of the resistance's evolution mechanisms could offer insight into many diseases including cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression and neurodegenerative diseases. <\/p>\n
Explore further: Fruit fly genetics reveal pesticide resistance and insight into cancer <\/p>\n
More information: PLOS ONE, DOI: 10.1371\/journal.pone.0173162<\/p>\n
For being so small, fruit flies have had a large impact on genetic research. Thomas Werner, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Michigan Technological University, has bridged the miniscule and the massive in ... <\/p>\n
To understand genetic mechanisms underlying insecticide resistance, scientists employed fruit flies and caffeine, a stimulant surrogate for xenobiotics in lab studies on resistance. <\/p>\n
(Phys.org)Spots on the butts of fruit flies are really, really small. But what a researcher and his graduate student are discovering about them could be gigantic. <\/p>\n
The so-called spotted-wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) was first described from Japan in the 1930s. In 2008 it was recognized as an emerging global pest of soft-fruit crops. Among commercially important fruits, D. suzukii ... <\/p>\n
Scientists searching for the genomics version of the holy grail more insight into predicting how an animal's genes affect physical or behavioral traits now have a reference manual that should speed gene discoveries ... <\/p>\n
Heather Hallen spent eight years looking for poison in all the wrong places. Alpha-amanitin is the poison of the death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides. The Michigan State University plant biology research associate was looking ... <\/p>\n
Gang warfare is not unique to humans - banded mongooses do it too. <\/p>\n
Wolbachia is the most successful parasite the world has ever known. You've never heard of it because it only infects bugs: millions upon millions of species of insects, spiders, centipedes and other arthropods all around ... <\/p>\n
Most dog owners will tell you they consider their beloved pets to be members of their families. Now new research suggests that dogs may be even more like us than previously thought. <\/p>\n
If you build it, they will come. That's historically been a common approach to species recovery: Grow the prey population first and predators will quickly return. As it turns out, that's not quite the case. A new study has ... <\/p>\n
The iron-containing molecule heme is necessary for life. Cells require heme to perform the chemical reactions that produce energy, among other critical tasks. <\/p>\n
Bringing back extinct species could lead to biodiversity loss rather than gain, according to work featuring University of Queensland researchers. <\/p>\n
Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Read the rest here:<\/p>\n
Matching up fruit flies, mushroom toxins and human health - Phys.Org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February 27, 2017 by Allison Mills Drosophila guttifera is another species Thomas Werner studies in his genetics lab. Credit: Thomas Werner Pulling data from 180 different lines of fruit flies, researchers from Michigan Technological University compared resistance to a toxin found in mushrooms like the Death Cap and Destroying Angel Continue reading