The Daily Bulletin Archive

William Kaputa, a master's degree candidate in forensic science at Buffalo State, will present his master's defense seminar, "Suppression of Neurodegenerative Symptoms via Suppressor of Levy Mutations in Drosophila melanogaster," at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, October 2, in Classroom Building B119. Light refreshments will be served before the seminar. This event is supported by the Faculty-Student Association.

Abstract
Mutation of the levy gene on chromosome 2 of Drosophila melanogaster has previously been shown to cause temperature-induced paralysis and neurodegeneration. The discovery of Suppressor of levy gene, also on chromosome 2, has been shown to block the effects of the levy mutation and rescue the wild-type phenotype. The goal of this research was to determine if Su(levy) mutation alleviates the effects of neurodegeneration caused by genes associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The mutant genes used were hLRRK2, α-Synuclein, DJ1-α, Pink, Parkin, and Aβ-42. To determine this, flies carrying Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD) genes were crossed with Su(levy) flies to produce progeny carrying both genes. The lifespan and locomotor abilities of these progeny were then tested and compared to control and mutant flies. The flies were also tested for their response to environmental toxins introduced to their diet. Our results show that the Suppressor of levy mutation plays a considerable role in alleviating neurodegenerative symptoms in Drosophila. Flies carrying Su(levy) show a significant improvement in lifespan, climbing ability, resistance to paralysis, and resistance to environmental toxins.