MAPPING MITOCHONDRIAL NUMBER AND MORPHOLOGY IN THE BRAINS OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER MODELS OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects millions of
people around the world, although it is more common in individuals aged 60 years or
older. PD is associated with the degeneration of dopamine neurons in the substantia
nigra. While the underlying cause of neuronal degeneration is poorly understood,
mitochondrial dysfunction is a common feature of the cell pathology. Geneticallyencoded
fluorescent probes were used to label the mitochondria in wildtype Drosophila
melanogaster and those genetically manipulated to model PD. Brains were dissected,
immunolabeled, and their mitochondria were imaged using structured illumination
microscopy (SIM). Mitochondrial number was determined, as well as the sphericity and
surface area quantified. This characterization of mitochondrial number and morphology
in wildtype Drosophila created a baseline for comparison to Drosophila that over-express
the wildtype human α-synuclein protein which is associated with PD.