BMAA neurotoxicity in Drosophila

Abstract

We report the establishment of an in vivo model using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the toxic effects of L-BMAA. We found that dietary intake of BMAA reduced the lifespan as well as the neurological functions of flies. Furthermore, we have developed an HPLC method to reliably detect both free and protein-bound BMAA in fly tissue extracts.

Key words::

• Drosophila
• ALS
• neurodegeneration

Acknowledgements

We express thanks for the generous support and technical help provided by Paul Cox, Sandra Banack, and Holly Johnson. We also thank Brant Watson for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by funding to RGZ from the Neuroscience Center at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, and to SP from the MDA foundation.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.