ABSTRACT
Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains a major challenge of modern medicine. Although PD is common and highly debilitating, the molecular mechanisms responsible for PD pathogenesis are poorly understood, and there are currently no effective preventative treatments for this disorder. Recently, linkage studies have begun to identify single-gene mutations responsible for rare, heritable forms of PD. While the identification of these genes has tremendous potential to provide insight into the mechanisms of PD and the interplay of genetics and environment in this disorder, we currently know very little about the biologic functions of the genes thus far identified and how their mutational alteration results in neuronal death. One promising approach to this problem involves the use of classical genetic analysis in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to identify the genetic pathways leading to pathology in fly models of this disease. This review will describe the features that make Drosophila useful in studies of the genes implicated in heritable forms of PD, and how these studies have begun to contribute to our understanding of the pathogenesis of this disorder and the identification of potential treatment strategies for PD.
