Dissecting the Mechanism of Parkinsons Disease Using Drosophila model. Dongsheng Chen. Metablic and Degenerative Disease Center, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Houston, TX.

   Parkinsons disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. In order to dissect the mechanism of Parkinsons disease, we generated parkin-tagged transgenic flies and performed TAP (tandem affinity purification)-based isolation of dParkin-associated protein complex, from which we identified a group of putative dParkin-Interacting partners. Through co-IP and fly genetic assays, we further showed that one of the isolated candidates, which we named luke, can interacts with dParkin both physically and genetically. As an alternative approach to study parkin's cellular functions, we have also been characterizing darken mutant phenotypes in different fly tissues such as male gonads and female ovary. Results from the above studies will be discussed in the presentation.