The time course of development of acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase in Drosophila melanogaster

Twenty stages in the life cycle of Canton-S, a normal strain of Drosophila melanogaster, were investigated for protein content and the activities of choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase, enzymes associated with the metabolism of acetylcholine. The maximum protein content is reached at the prepupal stage. Specific activities of choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase were high in the larval stages and again in the mature fly. The activities of these enzymes expressed on a per fly basis were compared with the activities of other enzymes, previously published by other workers, expressed on the same basis. The developmental pattern of acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase differed from the patterns exhibited by the other enzymes described earlier. It was possible to relate the different enzyme patterns to known changes occurring in the life cycle of Drosophila melanogaster.Supported by grants from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (347), and from the National Institutes of Health (FR 05471; NB 08864 and NB 08014).