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Full-Text Articles in Genetics and Genomics
Mef2-Bound Genes May Influence Ethanol Sedation In Drosophila Melanogaster, Katlyn M. Myers
Mef2-Bound Genes May Influence Ethanol Sedation In Drosophila Melanogaster, Katlyn M. Myers
Theses and Dissertations
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a global health issue that affects millions of people every year. This disorder has serious negative mental and physical consequences. Currently, treatment options for this disorder are largely limited to psychological therapy, with very few medications available to treat it. Being able to identify the environmental and genetic components that influence AUD can help improve diagnosis and treatment options. Previous studies in humans have shown a link between initial sensitivity and risk for alcohol abuse. Our laboratory uses Drosophila melanogaster as a model to study the genetic and environmental components of alcohol-related behaviors. Previous lab …
Glial Cell Mechanisms Regulate Alcohol Sedation In Drosophila Melanogaster, Kristen M. Lee
Glial Cell Mechanisms Regulate Alcohol Sedation In Drosophila Melanogaster, Kristen M. Lee
Theses and Dissertations
Approximately 16 million people in America are diagnosed with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) but no efficacious medical treatments exist. Alcohol-related behaviors can be studied in model organisms, and changes in these behaviors can be correlated with either (i) a risk for alcohol dependence or (ii) a symptom/feature of AUD itself. Although AUD is a disease of the central nervous system, a majority of research has focused on the neuronal underpinnings, leaving glial contributions largely undescribed. We used Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) to identify genes whose expression in glia regulates alcohol sedation. Mammals and Drosophila have conserved behavioral responses to alcohol …
Genetic And Environmental Factors Influence Drosophila Ethanol Sedation, Rebecca E. Schmitt
Genetic And Environmental Factors Influence Drosophila Ethanol Sedation, Rebecca E. Schmitt
Theses and Dissertations
Alcohol use disorder is a global health issue that affects a significant portion of the population, with affects including both negative mental and physical consequences. Currently, there are few treatment options available to those who suffer from alcohol use disorder, alcohol abuse, or alcohol dependence. Identifying candidate genes or environmental influences would therefore improve the means for possible treatments or identification of those people at risk for alcohol use disorder. Previous studies in humans have demonstrated an inverse association between initial sensitivity and risk for alcohol abuse. This connection allows investigators, and our laboratory, to investigate genetic and environmental factors …
Multi-Species Gene Networks And Drosophila Ethanol Sedation, Arnavaz Kollah
Multi-Species Gene Networks And Drosophila Ethanol Sedation, Arnavaz Kollah
Theses and Dissertations
Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are major health issues with few known genetic explanations. This project used the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) model to identify genes and gene networks that influence alcohol intoxication, a phenotype related to alcohol abuse in humans. We used bioinformatic tools to build gene networks based on 24 published Drosophila ethanol-responsive genes with human orthologs. We then assessed the role of these networks in ethanol sedation by testing two of the networks seeded on IP3K2, a gene that regulates calcium signaling, and CG14630, a gene involved in carnitine biosynthesis. We knocked down several genes in each of …