Fruit fly model sheds light on genetic roots of cocaine addiction

In a new JNeurosci paper, Adrian Rothenfluh and colleagues from the University of Utah developed a fruit fly model of cocaine self-administration that can be used to explore the genetic underpinnings of cocaine addiction. 

To model voluntary cocaine intake in fruit flies, or Drosophila melanogaster, the researchers first assessed cocaine consumption and preferences of this insect. Cocaine was innately aversive to fruit flies because it activated their bitter-sensing receptors. In other words, the fruit flies did not like cocaine's bitter taste. When the researchers mutated a gene for these receptors to reduce bitter perception, this made cocaine less aversive to the flies, and they began to approach a solution containing cocaine. Eventually, fruit flies with mutated receptors even preferred the cocaine solution over a sucrose solution. 

We have previously modeled alcohol self-administration in fruit flies, and this has revealed that humans and fruit flies share many of the same genes that drive alcohol consumption and addiction. So, it is reasonable to think that the genes involved with cocaine addiction in humans may also be involved in this fruit fly model." 

Adrian Rothenfluh, University of Utah