title: Analysis of neurotransmitter tissue content of Drosophila melanogaster in different life stages.
abstract: Drosophila melanogaster is a widely used model organism for studying neurological diseases with similar neurotransmission to mammals. While both larva and adult Drosophila have central nervous systems, not much is known about how neurotransmitter tissue content changes through development. In this study, we quantified tyramine, serotonin, octopamine, and dopamine in larval, pupal, and adult fly brains using capillary electrophoresis coupled to fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Tyramine and octopamine content varied between life stages, with almost no octopamine being present in the pupa, while tyramine levels in the pupa were very high. Adult females had significantly higher dopamine content than males, but no other neurotransmitters were dependent on sex in the adult. Understanding the tissue content of different life stages will be beneficial for future work comparing the effects of diseases on tissue content throughout development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, ‡Neuroscience Graduate Program, and §Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, United States.
authors.forename: Madelaine E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Denno
authors.forename: Eve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Privman
authors.forename: B Jill
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Venton
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary; D009448:Neurochemistry; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents
keywords: Drosophila melanogaster; capillary electrophoresis; development; neurotransmitters; tissue content