Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease and is the second most common disease affecting 2-3% of adult humans. Domoic acid (DA) is a potentially lethal neurotoxin produced by harmful planktonic algal blooms worldwide. Chronic low-level exposure to DA can be used as a model for a number of mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as PD. Both PD and DA poisoning cause the destruction of neurons in the mesencephalon that are associated with motor function control. This study used Drosophila melanogaster Canton-S as a model system to test potential of chronic sub-acute oral DA treatment to serve as a model for PD. Negative geotaxis, flight, and lipid peroxidation assays were performed to determine the effect of DA poisoning on Drosophila melanogaster Canton-S. Both negative geotaxis and flight assays both showed no significant changes in behavior. The lipid peroxidation assay showed that DA significantly caused excess lipid oxidation in all cohorts studied. More research is required to determine viability of using DA to model PD.