The Mechanisms Underlying α-Amanitin Resistance in Drosophila melanogaster: A Microarray Analysis

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 9; no. 4; p. e93489
• Main Authors: Mitchell, Chelsea L., Saul, Michael C., Lei, Liang, Wei, Hairong, Werner, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 01.04.2014; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Agrochemicals; Alpha-Amanitin - toxicity; Amanitin; Analysis; Animals; Basidiocarps; Biochemical Phenomena - genetics; Biological activity; Biological Evolution; Biology and Life Sciences; Blockage; Chromosomes; Cross-resistance; Cuticle; Detoxification; DNA microarrays; Drosophila; Drosophila melanogaster; Drosophila melanogaster - genetics; Drug Resistance - genetics; Ecology; Environmental stress; Enzyme inhibitors; Genetic aspects; Insecticide resistance; Insects; Kinases; Lipids - genetics; Metabolic Detoxication, Phase I - genetics; Metabolic Detoxication, Phase II - genetics; Microarray Analysis - methods; Mushrooms; Pesticide resistance; Pesticides; Phenotype; Physiological aspects; Proteolysis; Research and Analysis Methods; Species; Toxins; California; United States > US; Michigan
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093489

The rapid evolution of toxin resistance in animals has important consequences for the ecology of species and our economy. Pesticide resistance in insects has been a subject of intensive study; however, very little is known about how Drosophila species became resistant to natural toxins with ecological relevance, such as α-amanitin that is produced in deadly poisonous mushrooms. Here we performed a microarray study to elucidate the genes, chromosomal loci, molecular functions, biological processes, and cellular components that contribute to the α-amanitin resistance phenotype in Drosophila melanogaster. We suggest that toxin entry blockage through the cuticle, phase I and II detoxification, sequestration in lipid particles, and proteolytic cleavage of α-amanitin contribute in concert to this quantitative trait. We speculate that the resistance to mushroom toxins in D. melanogaster and perhaps in mycophagous Drosophila species has evolved as cross-resistance to pesticides, other xenobiotic substances, or environmental stress factors.