Abstract
Angelman syndrome (AS) is a complex and relatively frequent genetic disorder that disturbs the nervous system, with severe outcomes in children and adults. Drosophila melanogaster is a well-established experimental model, widely utilized for demonstrating the biological mechanisms involved in various human neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we successfully generated and described a new Ube3a mutant strain of D. melanogaster exhibiting AS-like phenotypes, such as locomotor disabilities, a condition seriously aggravated in homozygous male mutants. In order to salvage the AS-like phenotype, Ube3a mutant and normal strains of D. melanogaster were subjected to a long-term dietary supplementation with eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic omega-3 fatty acids found in commercially available capsules containing fish oil. Although essential for the normal development of the nervous system in many animals, omega-3 fatty acids proved strong positive effects on the climbing abilities of the homozygous male mutants. This paper represents the first report regarding the impact of omega-3 fatty acids on the climbing phenotype of an AS-like D. melanogaster mutant and brings relevant knowledge to the continuously developing field of nutrigenomics.
