TARDBP and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: To study and identify the possible roles and potential pathogenic mechanisms of the TDP-43 protein in the pathogenesis of ALS, several TDP-43 transgenic D. melanogaster models have been developed to further explore whether gene modification of TDP-43 can increase or decrease the generation of TDP-43 toxicity (Elden et al., 2010; Hanson et al., 2010; Ritson et al., 2010).