The contemporary relevance of the model organism Drosophila melanogaster to the biomedical sciences

Abstract

Drosophila melanogaster is undoubtedly one of the most useful model organisms in the life sciences. This fly species was initially used to consolidate the principles of heredity and to establish the basic concepts of populations genetics and the synthetic theory of evolution, but it can now offer scientists much more: the possibility of investigating a multitude of cellular and biological mechanisms, from the development and function of the immune system to neurogenesis, tumorigenesis and various other biomedically relevant phenomena. Numerous resources and research tools are available, at a relatively low cost, for the community of Drosofilist researchers worldwide, including an increasing number of mutant, transgenic and genomically edited lines currently maintained by stock centers in North America, Europe and Asia. Recently, through scientometric analyses, our group provided evidence of the low adhesion of Brazilian laboratories to the use of Drosophila as a model organism in their research, which is probably due to the lack of knowledge on the model and to the difficulties in importing specific fly lines from international stock centers. Therefore, disseminating the potential of this model organism and the research that uses it and is funded by FAPESP will not only educate the general population, but will also help to build a strong Brazilian Drosophila community focused on solving the most varied of biomedical problems in the country.