Competition of â-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) with Alanine and other Natural Amino Acids in Drosophila Melanogaster

Beta methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is a non-natural amino acid produced by several species of cyanobacteria. BMAA is linked to the neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/Parkinsonism-dementia complex (ALS/PDC) and thought to cause toxicity by increasing neuronal membrane permeability causing excitotoxicity, eventually leading to neuronal death. Experiments tested if in-vivo BMAA competes with alanine, a structurally similar amino acid, along with other natural amino acids (e.g. lysine). BMAA and an equivalent concentration of either alanine or lysine were fed to age and gender-matched Canton-S fruit flies. Our method used three independent trials of ten Drosophila melanogaster per vial, per treatment. The control group was fed normal food, during the five-day feeding period. The experimental groups were fed the competing amino acid at 12.5 mM, 25 mM, and 50 mM with an equivalent concentration of BMAA. The acute effects were measured by recording the viability of the various treated fly groups during a five-day feeding period. Lysine rescues the acute loss of viability in the presence of BMAA. Sequential treatment and competition with each of the twenty natural amino acids will give further insight into the structure-function relationship between BMAA and its role in neuronal dysfunction.