Gospodaryov, D.V., Lushchak, O.V., Rovenko, B.M., Perkhulyn, N.V., Gerards, M., Tuomela, T., Jacobs, H.T. (2014). Ciona intestinalis NADH dehydrogenase NDX confers stress-resistance and extended lifespan on Drosophila.  Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1837(11): 1861--1869.

FBrf0226294

Research paper

An assembled cDNA coding for the putative single-subunit NADH dehydrogenase (NDX) of Ciona intestinalis was introduced into Drosophila melanogaster. The encoded protein was found to localize to mitochondria and to confer rotenone-insensitive substrate oxidation in organello. Transgenic flies exhibited increased resistance to menadione, starvation and temperature stress, and manifested a sex and diet-dependent increase in mean lifespan of 20-50%. However, NDX was able only weakly to complement the phenotypes produced by the knockdown of complex I subunits.