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Knockdown of Drosophila hemoglobin suggests a role in O2 homeostasis.
Journal article

Knockdown of Drosophila hemoglobin suggests a role in O2 homeostasis.

  • Gleixner E Institute of Molecular Genetics, University of Mainz, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
  • Ripp F Institute of Molecular Genetics, University of Mainz, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
  • Gorr TA Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Regenerative Medicine Program, University and University Hospital Zurich, CH-8901 Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Schuh R Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany.
  • Wolf C Institute of Molecular Genetics, University of Mainz, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
  • Burmester T Institute of Zoology and Zoological Museum, Biocenter Grindel, University of Hamburg, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: thorsten.burmester@uni-hamburg.de.
  • Hankeln T Institute of Molecular Genetics, University of Mainz, D-55099 Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: hankeln@uni-mainz.de.
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  • 2016-03-23
Published in:
  • Insect biochemistry and molecular biology. - 2016
Hemoglobin
Hypoxia
Oxygen
Reactive oxygen species
Respiration
Tracheae
Animals
Drosophila Proteins
Drosophila melanogaster
Female
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
Gene Knockdown Techniques
Globins
Hemoglobins
Homeostasis
Larva
Male
Oxidative Stress
Oxygen
Paraquat
RNA Interference
Reactive Oxygen Species
English Almost all insects are equipped with a tracheal system, which appears to be sufficient for O2 supply even in phases of high metabolic activity. Therefore, with the exception of a few species dwelling in hypoxic habitats, specialized respiratory proteins had been considered unnecessary in insects. The recent discovery and apparently universal presence of intracellular hemoglobins in insects has remained functionally unexplained. The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster harbors three different globin genes (referred to as glob1-3). Glob1 is the most highly expressed globin and essentially occurs in the tracheal system and the fat body. To better understand the functions of insect globins, the levels of glob1 were modulated in Drosophila larvae and adults by RNAi-mediated knockdown and transgenic over-expression. No effects on the development were observed in flies with manipulated glob1 levels. However, the knockdown of glob1 led to a significantly reduced survival rate of adult flies under hypoxia (5% and 1.5% O2). Surprisingly, the glob1 knockdown flies also displayed increased resistance towards the reactive oxygen species-forming agent paraquat, which may be explained by a restricted availability of O2 resulting in decreased formation of harmful O2(-). In summary, our results suggest an important functional role of glob1 in O2 homeostasis, possibly by enhancing O2 supply.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/252015
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