An assay for social interaction in Drosophila fragile X mutants.
We developed a novel assay to examine social interactions in Drosophila and, as a first attempt, apply it here at examining the behavior of Drosophila Fragile X Mental Retardation gene (dfmr1) mutants. Fragile X syndrome is the most common cause of single gene intellectual disability (ID) and is frequently associated with autism. Our results suggest that dfmr1 mutants are less active than wild-type flies and interact with each other less often. In addition, mutants for one allele of dfmr1, dfmr1(B55), are more likely to come in close contact with a wild-type fly than another dfmr1(B55) mutant. Our results raise the possibility of defective social expression with preserved receptive abilities. We further suggest that the assay may be applied in a general strategy of examining endophenoypes of complex human neurological disorders in Drosophila, and specifically in order to understand the genetic basis of social interaction defects linked with ID.
Watson School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
Francois V
FV
Bolduc
Dan
D
Valente
Antoinette T
AT
Nguyen
Partha P
PP
Mitra
Tim
T
Tully
D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D058068:Endophenotypes; D005260:Female; D051860:Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D009154:Mutation; D010550:Personal Space; D012919:Social Behavior
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051860:Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein 1; C467328:FMR1 protein, Drosophila