Fly studies help define conserved gene networks related to intellectual disability

Now free in PubMed Central:

Oortveld MA, Keerthikumar S, Oti M, Nijhof B, Fernandes AC, Kochinke K, Castells-Nobau A, van Engelen E, Ellenkamp T, Eshuis L, Galy A, van Bokhoven H, Habermann B, Brunner HG, Zweier C, Verstreken P, Huynen MA, Schenck A. Human intellectual disability genes form conserved functional modules in Drosophila. PLoS Genet. 2013 Oct;9(10):e1003911. PMID: 24204314; PMCID: PMC3814316.

From the abstract: “Intellectual Disability (ID) disorders, defined by an IQ below 70, are genetically and phenotypically highly heterogeneous. Identification of common molecular pathways underlying these disorders is crucial for understanding the molecular basis of cognition and for the development of therapeutic intervention strategies. To systematically establish their functional connectivity, we used transgenic RNAi to target 270 ID gene orthologs in the Drosophila eye. Assessment of neuronal function in behavioral and electrophysiological assays and multiparametric morphological analysis identified phenotypes associated with knockdown of 180 ID gene orthologs. Most of these genotype-phenotype associations were novel. ... Drosophila phenotype groups show, in addition to ID, significant phenotypic similarity also in humans, indicating that functional modules are conserved. The combined data indicate that ID disorders, despite their extreme genetic diversity, are caused by disruption of a limited number of highly connected functional modules.”