Using Drosophila for Studies of Intermediate Filaments

Drosophila melanogaster is a useful organism for determining protein function and modeling human disease. Drosophila offers a rapid generation time and an abundance of genomic resources and genetic tools. Conservation in protein structure, signaling pathways, and developmental processes make studies performed in Drosophila relevant to other species, including humans. Drosophila models have been generated for neurodegenerative diseases, muscular dystrophy, cancer, and many other disorders. Recently, intermediate filament protein diseases have been modeled in Drosophila. These models have revealed novel mechanisms of pathology, illuminated potential new routes of therapy, and make whole organism compound screens feasible. The goal of this chapter is to outline steps to study intermediate filament function and model intermediate filament-associated diseases in Drosophila. The steps are general and can be applied to study the function of almost any protein. The protocols outlined here are for both the novice and experienced Drosophila researcher, allowing the rich developmental and cell biology that Drosophila offers to be applied to studies of intermediate filaments.