Targeting UCH in Drosophila melanogaster as a model for Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by genetic or environmental factors. Among several animal models, the Drosophila melanogaster is one of the valuable models  widely used in studying genes and proteins implicated in PD. UCH-L1 (Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1) which is involved in formation of Lewy bodies, shows loss of function mutations in PD causing degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in mice. Here, we summarize the results from studying the UCH-L1 and its knockdown in Drosophila model of PD with respect to movement, degeneration of dopamine producing neurons, dopamine deficiency and age dependent dependency of progression of the disease.  The knockdown of the UCH-L1 in Drosophila can be used in studying the epidemiology of the disease as well as in drug screening for finding therapeutic targets for PD.