Spinal muscular atrophy modeled in drosophila melanogaster

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is the most commonly inherited cause of death in children (Park, Kariya, & Monani, 2010 for review). This disease is characterized by a loss of motor neurons which leads to muscle degeneration, paralysis, and eventual death by respiratory failure (Monani, 2005 for review). More than ninety percent of the children born with this disease die; SMA occurs at a rate of 1 in 6,000 to 10,000 live births with a carrier frequency of 1 in 40 people (Kolb & Kissel, 2011 for review). SMA is a result of the loss of a gene known as Survival.