Drosophila melanogaster mutant for the dopamine recycling pathway shows altered biological parameters and increased lifespan

GERMAN A. SABIO; LUIS A. QUESADA-ALLUÉ; MARTÍN M. PÉREZ; PABLO A. BOCHICCHIO; ALEJANDRO RABOSSI; FABIANA A. ROSSI; MARÍA C. LEAL

ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2021

0013-8703

The ebony and tan genes in Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae)
participate in a very peculiar (and exclusive to insects) recycling pathway of neurotransmitters, mainly dopamine (DA) and histamine, in the nervous system and regulate the intensity of tanning in the cuticle. The ebony and tan mutants show altered levels, which gives rise to developmental and behavioural impairments. tan is a mutant lacking N-beta-alanyldopamine hydrolase (NBAD-hydrolase) activity; therefore it is unable to liberate DA from NBAD. Here, we studied developmental traits in tan1 mutant and previously unknown biological parameters in adult males such of as oxygen consumption, antioxidant capacity, lifespan and the expression of detoxifying enzymes in the central nervous system. We compared them with those of wt Canton S and the mutant ebony1. Our results show that although tan1 mutant showed high mortality during the immature stages, adult males showed significantly longer lifespan. The longer lifespan of tan1 was not due to caloric restriction. We found that tan1 males showed a higher antioxidant capacity of the nervous system. After provoking mild oxidative stress by the ingestion of haematoporphyrin, tan1 males still showed a significantly longer lifest¡pan than wt, whereas ebony 1mutant showed a shorter lifespan. Under these conditions, tan1 showed increased expression of catalase mRNA. Our results suggest that lower levels of free DA in the nervous system together with higher antioxidant activities seem to favour an extended lifespan in D. melanogaster tan1 males.