60 Percent of Its DNA is Similar to Human Beings, Scientists Won Nobel 6 times.
60 percent of Drosophila melanogaster DNA, known as the vinegar fly, shares characteristics with those of humans. For this reason, it has been helping scientists for a century as an ideal laboratory animal in the development of the treatment of cancer, diabetes, autism and many other diseases.
The science of genetics owes the vinegar fly to its current level. So far, 10 scientists have been awarded the Nobel 6 times thanks to this fly. Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. According to the review prepared by Reyhan Oksay from Science and Technology for Everyone, her work on molecular mechanisms controlling circadian rhythms was largely based on experiments with vinegar flies.
Drosophila research earned 10 scientists 5 more Nobel Prizes in Medicine before that.
HOW DID DROSOPHILA'S PASSION FOR NOBEL BEGIN?
Vinegar flies became the favorite experimental animal of laboratories in the early 20th century with the American biologist Thomas Hunt Morgan. Using vinegar flies, Morgan discovered how genes are arranged on chromosomes. And that some genes are linked with each other; in other words, he discovered that it was inherited. In this process, Morgan formed the foundations of genetics, one of the most popular branches of science today.
Since then, the science of genetics has developed largely based on vinegar fly experiments. Today, scientists have discovered that 75% of the genes that cause diseases in humans are also found in vinegar flies. Dawn syndrome, Alzheimer's, autism, diabetes and all types of cancer are at the top of these diseases. “Vinegar flies were designed to help scientists,” says geneticist Steve Jones.
FANTASY AWAKENING FEATURES OF DROSOPHILA
Drosophila melanogaster, an ordinary fruit fly, is considered a harmful insect that haunts decaying fruit. But medical research owes a lot to these tiny creatures. Here are 15 characteristics of flies that make such a great contribution to medical research:
They live fast and die fast
The vinegar fly has a very short life span. A productive pair of flies produces hundreds of offspring sharing the same genetics within 10-12 days, provided that the temperature is 25 ° C and above. And it dies.
– We owe most of the medical advances to the vinegar flies.
Since their lifespan is relatively short, vinegar flies are ideal experimental animals for laboratories. Scientists have had the opportunity to easily trace the genetic evolution over generations in their short lifetimes. For comparison, scientists can only learn from mice what they have learned from vinegar flies in 30 years. That's why vinegar flies have been the "superstar" of genetic research for a century.
Scientists learned basic mechanisms of genetics from vinegar flies
Thomas Hunt Morgan was the first scientist to systematically study vinegar flies at the beginning of the last century. In addition, Morgan first created the chromosomal inheritance theory. Thus, the foundation of the science of genetics was laid.
Despite their small size, vinegar flies have a large number of genes.
Humans have 24,000 genes; whereas this fly, a few mm long, has 14,000 genes.
– We have more to learn from flies
Scientists produced the gene map of the vinegar fly in 2000. The Human Genome Project was created based on this basic information. Over the last century, vinegar flies have provided access to vital information about how genes work. These animals shed light on how genetic inheritance is passed down from generation to generation. They also enabled us to understand how a single cell, the fertilized egg, can turn into a complete living organism.
Humans and vinegar flies are genetically identical
75% of the genes that cause disease in humans are also found in vinegar flies. That is why vinegar flies are a model for human disease Since many of the human genes are found in vinegar flies, scientists were able to simulate human diseases using vinegar flies. For example, flies that ate large amounts of sugar exhibited the symptoms of type 2 diabetes seen in humans. Scientists were also able to simulate other diseases by manipulating the genetics of the vinegar flies.
– How are these kept in a lab environment without flying?
Researchers stun them with carbon dioxide before removing them from the test tube. Otherwise, they can fly away.
Vinegar fly chromosomes look like barcodes
Drosophila chromosomes are light to dark shades; They draw a template similar to a barcode array. In this way, scientists can easily perform operations such as deleting a gene or changing the sequence on these genes.
Females spend most of their time laying eggs
Females lay 30-50 eggs a day at room temperature during their lifetime. In colder environments, the number of eggs decreases.
– Little bug, big brain
There are more than 100 thousand neurons in the brain of an adult fly. According to a recent study, the circuits formed by these neurons regulate complex behaviors such as circadian rhythm, sleep, learning, recording memories, flirting, feeding, showing violence, and flight navigation in an incredible order.
– They not only serve medical research, they help produce tastier beers
A study conducted at Stanford University found that vinegar flies find fruit-based beers more attractive. The fact that people also prefer these beers causes brewers to get help from vinegar flies.
Vinegar flies also seek solace in alcohol
In another article published in Science magazine, it is stated that the reward circuit in the brain of vinegar flies is activated by alcohol, as in humans. Moreover, flies can also turn to alcohol for similar reasons as humans. In a study conducted at the University of California in San Francisco, it was observed that the male fly rejected by the female drank four times more than the fly with her partner.
– They lead the way in drug trials
In experiments investigating the effects of new drugs, drosophila constitutes a biochemical model. Prototypes of drugs that relieve disease symptoms in flies can be used in clinical trials.
SCIENCE PEOPLE DISCOVERED A NEW MECHANISM OF HEALING THANKS TO VINE FLIES
Researcher Vicki Losick recently found that using vinegar flies, the lost cells on the wound are compensated by a mechanism called polyploidization. This means the following: Either cell reproduction or cell growth occurs in cell damage due to injury. Thus, what is known about how the body reacts to damage has undergone a radical change.
How will the study of these little bizarre organisms affect the science of medicine and physiology in the future?
Thanks to the genomic revolution, people are cracking their DNA for a thousand dollars today. The generation of the genetic model paves the way for the identification of gene variants related to diseases in that person or family members.
At this stage, the most critical point is to understand what all these genes do. Many of them may be encoding proteins that initiate an unknown function, or proteins for which we have a little idea of their function. However, we do not know much about how they adapt to the molecular network that regulates cell physiology. Fruit fly research has been trying to solve this puzzle for the last decade.
We can take a specific Drosophila gene with a mutation and combine it with mutations in thousands of different genes. These experiments can be completed in a very short time due to their easy reproduction and short life span. In this way, scientists will be able to create genetic networks that work together to regulate the behavior of the cell and decipher the functions of unknown proteins.
Studies on vinegar flies that are being carried out at great speed will guide the testing of newly produced drugs, understanding how factors such as temperature increase due to climate change and drought will affect organisms.
More importantly, the fact that it is cheap and easy to research on vinegar flies enables a broader collaboration in international scientific studies. We actually owe Drosophila the developments in the field of biology over the last 100 years.
