Abstract
How does brain coordinate physiological and behavioral responses to achieve survival in adverse environment is intriguing yet complicated. During studies of the small G protein Rac's role in learning and memory, the authors unexpectedly observed that neuronal expression of dominant-negative Rac in adult Drosophila remarkably enhanced the survival of animals in various stress conditions, including oxidation, desiccation, starvation, and heat. The elevated stress resistance was not accompanied by a reduction in female fecundity or a change in whole-body lipid storage. The observation therefore implies the involvement of small G protein Rac in neuronal regulation of global stress responses.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Adaptation, Physiological / physiology*
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Animals
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Desiccation / methods
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Drosophila Proteins / metabolism
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Drosophila melanogaster
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Female
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Gene Expression Regulation / physiology
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Heat Stress Disorders / metabolism
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Herbicides / pharmacology
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Longevity / physiology
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Male
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Neurons / metabolism*
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Oxidative Stress / drug effects
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Oxidative Stress / genetics
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Paraquat / pharmacology
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Starvation / genetics
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Starvation / physiopathology
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Stress, Physiological / physiology*
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Temperature
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Triglycerides / metabolism
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rac GTP-Binding Proteins / genetics
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rac GTP-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
Substances
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Drosophila Proteins
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Herbicides
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Triglycerides
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rac GTP-Binding Proteins
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Paraquat