The fragile head and brain of a fly are not easy things to examine but MRC scientists have figured out how to make it a little simpler. And they hope their research will shed light on human disease.
Using an imaging technique, originally developed at the MRC Human Genetics Unit, called optical projection tomography (OPT) they have generated startling 3D images of the inside of a fruit fly for the first time. The OPT images could help to speed up genetic research into Alzheimer's and other human diseases that affect brain cells.
Dr Mary O'Connell of the MRC Human Genetics Unit who led the research explained:
"Neurodegeneration, the gradual loss of function of brain cells that occurs in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neurone diseases, isn't a strictly human phenomenon. Insects are affected by it too. In the autumn, bees and wasps often develop erratic behaviour before they die."
Because the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and human share many genes with similar functions, the fly is widely used by genetic researchers to study how genes influence human disease.
"It's already known that defects in the equivalent fly genes involved in human brain diseases cause brain cells in fruit flies to lose function as they age," Dr O'Connell continued.
OPT could help researchers to look at how the fly brain changes in response to alterations in the normal activity of a specific gene without the risk of damaging tissue through dissection.
In a paper published in PLoS ONE, the team describes how they have already used the technique to image individual cavities within the brain of an ageing fly and see the brain deteriorate.
MRC PhD student Leeanne McGurk who captured many of the OPT images explained why the technique works: