Byers D, Davis R L, Kiger J A
Nature. 1981 Jan 1;289(5793):79-81. doi: 10.1038/289079a0.
Cyclic AMP is an intracellular mediator ('second messenger') in the nervous and endocrine control of cellular function, regulating different processes in different cell types. Although evidence is incomplete, it seems that cyclic AMP enhances the calcium-mediated release of neurotransmitter in some neurones. A simple form of memory in the mollusc Aplysia is probably encoded as a cyclic AMP-induced enhancement of neurotransmission at certain synapses of the central nervous system. The possibility that cyclic AMP participates in learning mechanisms may be explored using genetic mutants. For this purpose the fruitfly Drosophila is suitable as it is genetically well characterized and can learn through olfaction, vision or taste. We show here that independent searches for mutations of olfactory learning and of cyclic AMP metabolism, and for mutations causing female infertility have each led to the same gene--the dunce gene. Our evidence indicates that the normal dunce gene may specify a cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase.
环磷酸腺苷（Cyclic AMP）是细胞功能的神经和内分泌控制中的一种细胞内介质（“第二信使”），调节不同细胞类型中的不同过程。尽管证据尚不完整，但环磷酸腺苷似乎能增强某些神经元中钙介导的神经递质释放。软体动物海兔（Aplysia）的一种简单记忆形式可能被编码为环磷酸腺苷诱导的中枢神经系统某些突触处神经传递增强。可以使用基因突变异种来探索环磷酸腺苷参与学习机制的可能性。为此，果蝇（Drosophila）是合适的，因为它具有良好的遗传学特征，并且可以通过嗅觉、视觉或味觉进行学习。我们在此表明，对嗅觉学习和环磷酸腺苷代谢的突变以及导致雌性不育的突变进行的独立搜索，均指向了同一个基因——迟钝基因（dunce gene）。我们的证据表明，正常的迟钝基因可能指定一种环磷酸腺苷磷酸二酯酶。
