Yosuf Arab

Introduction Phosphagen kinases play an integral role in the bioenergetics of skeletal and cardiac muscle where they catalyse the conversion of phosphagens to ATP and vice versa (Wallimann et al., 1992). Phosphagen systems maintain deep reservoirs of phosphagens, such as phosphoarginine in fruit flies and phosphocreatine in mammals. These reservoirs make ATP available at times of intense metabolic load acting as ‘temporal’ buffers between energy supply and demand (Newsholme et al., 1978).

Abstract Phosphagen systems are crucial for muscle bioenergetics - rapidly regenerating ATP to support the high metabolic demands of intense musculoskeletal activity. However, their roles in motor neurons that drive muscle contraction have received little attention. Here, we knocked down expression of the primary phosphagen kinase [Arginine Kinase 1; ArgK1] in Drosophila larval motor neurons and assessed the impact on presynaptic energy metabolism and neurotransmission in situ.