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Published on: January 12, 2020
Developmental role of GABAB(1) receptors in Drosophila
Svetlana Dzitoyeva1, Alan Gutnov, Marta Imbesi
1The Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 West Taylor Street, MC912, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Abstract:
Previously, an RNA interference (RNAi) knockdown of GABAB(1) subunit in adult Drosophila was used for behavioral studies. Here we report on developmental deficits caused by embryonic Drosophila GABAB(1) RNAi and drug antagonism. Injecting embryos with CGP54626 (a GABAB receptor antagonist) reduced hatching and caused lethality. Similar effects were produced by injecting embryos with GABAB(1) double-stranded RNA (RNAi). The surviving GABAB(1) RNAi larvae were significantly smaller than controls and showed a peculiar phenotype; their tracheae were folded. Our results suggest that GABAB receptors are required for normal development and that the Drosophila model could be used to investigate the participating molecular mechanisms.
