Acetylcholine synthesis and accumulation in the CNS of Drosophila larvae: analysis of shibirets, a mutant with a temperature-sensitive block in synaptic transmission.
A radiochemical method is applied to the study of neurotransmitter metabolism in Drosophila. The larval CNS is a favorable system for analyzing acetylcholine (ACh) metabolism, since the pool of [3H]ACh rapidly reaches a steady state with a high ratio of intracellular [3H]ACh to [3H]choline. A temperature-sensitive paralytic mutant, shibirets, shows reduced [3H]ACh accumulation at the restrictive temperature. This reduction is not the result of decreased synthesis of [3H]ACh, but rather an abnormally rapid rate of release, which is not prevented by blocking tetrodotoxin-sensitive nerve activity.
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D009435:Synaptic Transmission; D013696:Temperature
D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D002794:Choline; D000109:Acetylcholine