[Effect of the histone deacetylase inhibitor sodium butyrate on the viability and life span in Drosophila melanogaster].

Histone acetylation (one of the most important epigenetic mechanisms controlling gene expression) has been recently shown to be involved in life span (LS) determination. There are some data indicating the geroprotective potential of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. In the present study, the effects of HDAC inhibitor, sodium butyrate (SB), on the parameters of viability and LS of Drosophila melanogaster were studied.

[Neuroendocrine system in Drosophila melanogaster lifespan control].

Drosophila is used as a model organism to review the mechanisms of neuroendocrine system involvement in lifespan control. The role of neuron specific expression of genes participating in antioxidative system in lifespan control is described. Data on endocrine function of the nervous system in lifespan control are discussed.

[Regularory elements of the copia retrotransposon determine different levels of expression in different organs of males and females of Drosophila melanogaster].

Using a model system in which the expression of the reporter gene lacZ is under the control of five deleted variants of the copia retrotransposon regulatory region, which includes the 5'-long terminal repeat (LTR) and the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR), their contribution to the control of retrotransposon activity in different organs of males and females of Drosophila melanogaster was analyzed. The whole regulatory region provides expression of the reporter gene at the embryonic stage, and in larvae and adult flies only in generative organs. The 5'-end of LTR harbors a positive regulator that determines expression of the retrotransposon in organs of all types.

[Molecular variation of the shuttle craft and Lim3 genes, controlling the development of the nervous system, in a natural Drosophila melanogaster population].

Comparative polymorphism of the first exon and first intron of the shuttle craft (stc) and Lim3 genes and their putative regulatory 5'-flanking sequences was analyzed using 20 sequenced natural alleles. A comparison of the stc and Lim3 genes showed that the extent of polymorphism was similar in their introns and corresponded to the variation level characteristic of Drosophila melanogaster, while the putative regulatory region and first intron of the stc gene proved to be more variable than the corresponding regions of the Lim3 gene. Since the genes under study occurred on the same chromosomes isolated from one population and were close together in a region having a high recombination rate, the difference in the extent of polymorphism between the regulatory and coding regions was explained by individual characteristics of each gene.

[Genes regulating the development and functioning of the nervous system determine life span in Drosophila melanogaster].

Earlier, it has been shown that genes responsible for differences in longevity between wild-type Drosophila melanogaster lines 2b and Oregon are localized in region 7A6-B2, 36E4-37B9, 37B9-D2, and 64C-65C. Quantitative complementation tests were conducted between the gene mutations localized in these regions and involved in catecholamine biosynthesis (iav (inactive), Catsup (Catecholamines up), amd (alpha methyl dopa resistant), Dox-A2 (Diphenol oxidase A2), pie (pale)) and neuron development control (Fas3 (Fascyclin 3), tup (tail up), Lim3), on the one hand, and two different normal alleles of these genes in lines 2b and Oregon, on the other. Complementation was found for genes iav, Fas3, amd and ple.