Drosophila study identifies genes relevant to consumption of drugs of abuse

Highfill CA, Baker BM, Stevens SD, Anholt RRH, Mackay TFC. Genetics of cocaine and methamphetamine consumption and preference in Drosophila melanogaster. PLoS Genet. 2019 May 20;15(5):e1007834. PMID: 31107875.

From the abstract: "Illicit use of psychostimulants, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, constitutes a significant public health problem. ... genetic factors that account for individual variation in susceptibility to substance abuse and addiction remain largely unknown. Drosophila melanogaster can serve as a translational model for studies on substance abuse, since flies have a dopamine transporter that can bind cocaine and methamphetamine, and exposure to these compounds elicits effects similar to those observed in people, suggesting conserved evolutionary mechanisms underlying drug responses. Here, we used the D. melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel to investigate the genetic basis for variation in psychostimulant drug consumption ... Quantification of natural genetic variation in voluntary consumption, preference, and change in consumption and preference over time for cocaine and methamphetamine uncovered significant genetic variation for all traits, including sex-, exposure- and drug-specific genetic variation. Genome wide association analyses identified both shared and drug-specific candidate genes ... "