INDUCIBILITY OF THE DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER CYTOCHROME-P450 GENE, CYP6A2, BY PHENOBARBITAL IN INSECTICIDE SUSCEPTIBLE OR RESISTANT STRAINS

The importance of cytochrome P450s in the biology of cells or organism s is clearly established, While numerous studies concern vertebrates, little is known about invertebrates cytochrome P450s. In this paper, w e have focused on CYP6A2 gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster. W e show the expression of this cytochrome P450 gene in the Canton(S) st rain (wild type) to be under the control of phenobarbital, In adults t reated with phenobarbital, this gene is transcribed in the midgut, the pericuticular fat bodies and the Malpighian tubules. The induction fa ctor is 15. In the RDDT(R) strain of Drosophila melanogaster, which is resistant to the insecticide DDT, this gene is constitutively overexp ressed in the same tissues (overexpression factor is 6 relative to unt reated Canton(S) flies), Phenobarbital is not as effective on RDDT(R) (induction factor is 2.5 relative to untreated RDDT(R) dies) as on wil d type strains. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.