In a study led by the University of Malta, fruit flies and yeast have helped pin down the real culprit behind the most common genetic killer of children.

The study by the university and the Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier has shown that fruit flies and brewer’s yeast, which are genetically and biologically similar to humans, could reveal clues about the cause of spinal muscular atrophy.

This neuromuscular disorder can cause children to lose their ability to walk, eat and breathe. Mostly caused by an inherited flaw in the survival motor neuron gene, there is no cure for it yet, because of a lack of detailed information on the SMN protein in living organisms.

The research team from the universities of Malta and Montpellier have now found that SMN forms an alliance with a set of proteins known as gemins. It is so fragile that it can be broken if the balance in protein levels is upset. In fruit flies, the consequences are catastrophic and include weakening muscles so much that they are unable to fly.

“Our study is the first to show that the special relationship between SMN and gemins exists in a living model system,” said lead author Ruben Cauchi, a senior lecturer at the University of Malta.

The study, called ‘Genetic interactions between the members of the SMN-gemins complex in drosophila’, by Rebecca Borg, Rémy Bordonne, Neville Vassallo and Dr Cauchi was funded by the University of Malta, the Malta Council for Science and Technology, the Embassy of France in Malta and a Malta Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship.

The findings were published in the journal Plos One.