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Drosophila melanogaster has the enzymatic machinery to make the melanic component of neuromelanin
Author(s) -
Barek Hanine,
Veraksa Alexey,
Sugumaran Manickam
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
pigment cell and melanoma research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1755-148X
pISSN - 1755-1471
DOI - 10.1111/pcmr.12709
Subject(s) - neuromelanin , drosophila melanogaster , melanin , biology , enzyme , biochemistry , cuticle (hair) , insect , aromatic l amino acid decarboxylase , tyrosinase , melanogaster , drosophila (subgenus) , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , substantia nigra , dopamine , botany , neuroscience , dopaminergic
Summary In Drosophila , the same set of genes that are used for cuticle pigmentation and sclerotization are present in the nervous system and are responsible for neurotransmitter recycling. In this study, we carried out biochemical analysis to determine whether insects have the enzymatic machinery to make melanic component of neuromelanin. We focused our attention on two key enzymes of melanogenesis, namely phenoloxidase and dopachrome decarboxylase/tautomerase. Activity staining of the proteins isolated from the Drosophila larval brain tissue, separated by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, indicated the presence of these two enzymes. Mass spectral sequence analysis of the band also supported this finding. To best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the presence of the enzymatic machinery to make melanin part of neuromelanin in any insect brain.