Contributions of the drosophila model to understanding methylmercury effects on development

Abstract

The use of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) for examining the toxic effects of methylmercury (MeHg) effectively began in 1965 with Claes Ramel's investigations of genetic effects of organic mercury compounds (Hereditas 57:445-447, 1967). Rationale for these early studies came not from the Minamata disaster but from environmental concerns for extensive use of mercury-based fungicides in farming and wood product industries. As understanding of mechanisms of mutagenesis was emerging at this time, Ramel's studies focused on cytological data, namely, irregularities in meiotic chromosome disjunction, as an end point for MeHg exposures. Today, MeHg is known more for its potency in disrupting fetal neural development via mechanisms that prevail over nondisjunction or mutagenesis. Advancement of our knowledge of MeHg toxicity the past 45 years has, at the same time, seen an explosion in development and use of the Drosophila model. Drosophila is now a critical component of our modern arsenal of molecular genetic, whole organism, and systems biology approaches to biomedical research.