From action potential to contraction: Neural control and excitation–contraction coupling in larval muscles of Drosophila

• Published in: Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology Vol. 154; no. 2; pp. 173 - 183
• Main Authors: Peron, Samantha, Zordan, Mauro A., Magnabosco, Anna, Reggiani, Carlo, Megighian, Aram
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-10-2009
• Subjects: Action Potentials; Animals; Contraction; Drosophila; Drosophila melanogaster; Drosophila melanogaster - physiology; Drosophila Proteins - chemistry; Drosophila Proteins - genetics; Drosophila Proteins - physiology; Excitation; Ion Channels; Larva - physiology; Larval muscle; Locomotion; Models, Animal; Muscle Contraction - genetics; Muscle Contraction - physiology; Muscle, Striated - innervation; Muscle, Striated - physiology; Muscle, Striated - ultrastructure; Neuromuscular Junction - physiology; Excitation; Drosophila; Contraction; Larval muscle
• ISSN: 1095-6433; 1531-4332
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2009.04.626

The neuromuscular system of
Drosophila melanogaster has been studied for many years for its relative simplicity and because of the genetic and molecular versatilities. Three main types of striated muscles are present in this dipteran: fibrillar muscles, tubular muscles and supercontractile muscles. The visceral muscles in adult flies and the body wall segmental muscles in embryos and larvae belong to the group of supercontractile muscles. Larval body wall muscles have been the object of detailed studies as a model for neuromuscular junction function but have received much less attention with respect to their mechanical properties and to the control of contraction. In this review we wish to assess available information on the physiology of the
Drosophila larval muscular system. Our aim is to establish whether this system has the requisites to be considered a good model in which to perform a functional characterization of
Drosophila genes, with a known muscular expression, as well as
Drosophila homologs of human genes, the dysfunction of which, is known to be associated with human hereditary muscle pathologies.