This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
This research project explores a central question in physiology, "what are the required levels of metabolic enzymes for the optimal performance of muscles?" Paradoxically, most studies suggest that muscles possess higher enzyme levels than is necessary for optimal performance. Studying the relationship between the levels of these enzymes and muscle performance requires an experimental system where muscles are required to operate at extremes. Flying insects are an ideal system for studying high performance exercise because they beat their wings, and consequently flex their muscles, hundreds of times a second. It is not known, however, to what extent altering the activities of the enzymes involved in energy production will impair muscle metabolism and flight ability. To address this issue, fruit flies will be genetically manipulated in order to reduce or increase the levels of critical enzymes involved in the production of energy from sugars. The flight performance of these flies will then be monitored with high speed video cameras. This research may provide important insights into human disease because mutations of these same enzymes are implicated in many metabolic disorders in humans. This project will also afford graduate and undergraduate students with hands-on training in genetics, biochemistry, and experimental design.
