Researchers studying fruit flies have discovered a gene that raises tolerance for alcohol and could be the basis for gene therapy for alcoholism, ABC News reported May 23.

The study found that when the gene — dubbed “happyhour” by researchers — was switched off by blocking its action with an anticancer drug called Tarceva, the flies became more sensitive to alcohol and drank less. The drug, like the gene, acts on a cellular network called the EGF pathway.

“People who are very sensitive to alcohol tend to drink less — that's the person who gets drunk on one glass of wine,” noted Brown University psychiatrist Robert Swift. “The person who can drink everybody under the table — that's that person who is more likely to become an alcoholic.”

Researcher Ulrike Heberlein of the University of California at San Francisco and colleagues found the gene by studying mutant fruit flies that could outdrink other flies. In past studies, Heberlein's team discovered a gene called “cheapdate” that makes flies highly sensitive to alcohol.

“I'm very much looking forward for [Tarceva] to be tested in humans, and it's quite possible one wouldn't need the doses used in chemotherapy to treat addicts,” said Heberlein.

The study was published in the May 21, 2009 issue of the journal Cell.