Thioredoxin-2 affects lifespan and oxidative stress in Drosophila.
Thioredoxins are proteins that have thiol-reducing activity and a characteristic conserved active site (WCGPC). They have several documented functions, e.g. roles in defences against oxidative stress and as electron donors for ribonucleotide-reductase. In Drosophila melanogaster there are three "classical" thioredoxins with the conserved active site: deadhead, ThioredoxinT and Thioredoxin-2. Here, we report the creation of null-mutations in the Thioredoxin-2 (Trx-2) gene. Characterization of two Trx-2 mutants indicated that Trx-2 affects the lifespan of D. melanogaster, and is involved in the organism's oxidative stress protection system. We found that the mutants have a shorter lifespan than wild-type flies, and thioredoxin double mutant flies showed lower tolerance to oxidative stress than wild-type flies, while flies carrying multiple copies of a Trx-2 rescue construct showed higher tolerance. These findings suggest that Trx-2 has modest or redundant functions in Drosophila physiology under unstressed conditions, but could be important during times of environmental stress.
Svensson
Malin J
MJ
UCMP, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Larsson
Jan
J
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D017344:Genes, Insect; D006720:Homozygote; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000235:genetics*; D013879:Thioredoxins / Q000235:genetics*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C516042:Trx-2 protein, Drosophila; D013879:Thioredoxins