Mannitol ingestion causes concentration-dependent, sex-biased mortality in adults of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster).

ABSTRACT: Mannitol, a sugar alcohol used in commercial food products, has been previously shown to induce sex-biased mortality in female Drosophila melanogaster when ingested at a single concentration (1 M). We hypothesized that sex differences in energy needs, related to reproductive costs, contributed to the increased mortality we observed in females compared to males. To test this, we compared the longevity of actively mating and non-mating flies fed increasing concentrations of mannitol. We also asked whether mannitol-induced mortality was concentration-dependent for both males and females, and if mannitol's sex-biased effects were consistent across concentrations. Females and males both showed concentration-dependent increases in mortality, but female mortality was consistently higher at concen

SUBMITTER: Fiocca K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6544200 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature