Samantha J Tener, Zhi Lin, Scarlet J Park, Kairaluchi Oraedu, Matthew Ulgherait, Emily Van Beek, Andrés Martínez-Muñiz, Meghan Pantalia, Jared A Gatto, Julia Volpi, Nicholas Stavropoulos, William W Ja, Julie C Canman, Mimi Shirasu-Hiza
Mutations in Cullin-3 (Cul3), a conserved gene encoding a ubiquitin ligase, are strongly associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we characterize ASD-related pathologies caused by neuron-specific Cul3 knockdown in Drosophila. We confirmed that neuronal Cul3 knockdown causes short sleep, paralleling sleep disturbances in ASD. Because sleep defects and ASD are linked to metabolic dysregulation, we tested the starvation response of neuronal Cul3 knockdown flies; they starved faster and had lower triacylglyceride levels than controls, suggesting defects in metabolic homeostasis...
January 17, 2024: Scientific Reports