title: Development and diabetes on the fly.
abstract: We review the use of a model organism to study the effects of a slow course, degenerative disease: namely, diabetes mellitus. Development and aging are biological phenomena entailing reproduction, growth, and differentiation, and then decline and progressive loss of functionality leading ultimately to failure and death. It occurs at all biological levels of organization, from molecular interactions to organismal well being and homeostasis. Yet very few models capable of addressing the different levels of complexity in these chronic, developmental phenomena are available to study, and model organisms are an exception and a welcome opportunity for these approaches. Genetic model organisms, like the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, offer the possibility of studying the panoply of life processes in normal and diseased states like diabetes mellitus, from a plethora of different perspectives. These long-term aspects are now beginning to be characterized.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus UNAM Juriquilla, Boulevard Juriquilla #3001, Querétaro 76230, Mexico.
authors.forename: Juan Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Murillo-Maldonado
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus UNAM Juriquilla, Boulevard Juriquilla #3001, Querétaro 76230, Mexico. Electronic address: juanriesgo@prodigy.net.mx.
authors.forename: Juan Rafael
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Riesgo-Escovar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D007328:Insulin
keywords: Development; Diabetes; Drosophila melanogaster; Lifespan; Model organism