Project description:We utilized three ecologically diverse Drosophila species to explore the influence of ecological adaptation on transcriptomic responses to isocaloric diets differing in their relative proportions of protein to sugar. Drosophila melanogaster, a cosmopolitan species that breeds in decaying fruit, exemplifies individuals long exposed to a Western diet higher in sugar, while the natural diet of the cactophilic D. mojavensis, is much lower in carbohydrates. Drosophila arizonae, the sister species of D. mojavensis, is largely cactophilic, but also utilizes rotting fruits that are higher in sugars than cacti. We exposed third instar larvae for 24 hours to diets either (1) high in protein relative to sugar, (2) diets with equal amounts of protein and sugar, and (3) diets low in protein but high in sugar. As we predicted, based upon earlier interspecific studies of development and metabolism, the most extreme differences in gene expression under different dietary conditions were found in D. mojavensis followed by D. arizonae. No differential expression among diets was observed for D. melanogaster, a species that survives well under all three conditions, with little impact on its metabolism. We suggest that these three species together provide a model to examine individual and population differences in vulnerability to lifestyle-associated health problems such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
Project description:In Drosophila, adaptation to xeric environments presents many challenges, greatest among them the maintenance of water balance. Drosophila mojavensis, a cactophilic species from the deserts of North America, is one of the most desiccation-resistant in the genus, surviving low humidity primarily by reducing its metabolic rate. Genetic control of reduced metabolic rate, however, has yet to be elucidated. We utilized the recently sequenced genome of D. mojavensis to create an oligonucleotide microarray in order to pursue the identities of the genes involved in metabolic regulation during desiccation. We observed large differences in gene expression between male and female D. mojavensis as well as both quantitative and qualitative sex differences in their ability to survive xeric conditions. As expected, genes associated with metabolic regulation and carbohydrate metabolism were differentially regulated between stress treatments. Most importantly, we identified four points in central metabolism (Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, transaldolase, alcohol dehydrogenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase) that indicate the potential mechanisms controlling metabolic rate reduction associated with desiccation resistance. Furthermore, a large number of genes associated with vision pathways also were differentially expressed between stress treatments, especially in females, that may underlie the initial detection of stressful environments and trigger subsequent metabolic changes. Dataset from Transcriptional regulation of metabolism associated with the increased desiccation resistance of the cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis Matzkin,LM and Markow, MA, Genetics. The stock used in this study (15081-1352.22) was the same one utilized for the recently published D. mojavensis genome sequence. Flies were reared using standard Tucson Drosophila Stock Center banana/Opuntia media. The experimental design consisted of two mating status treatments (virgin and mated) and two stress treatments (desiccation and food) for both sexes. There were two replicates per mating status/stress/sex treatment (16 total hybridizations)
Project description:In Drosophila, adaptation to xeric environments presents many challenges, greatest among them the maintenance of water balance. Drosophila mojavensis, a cactophilic species from the deserts of North America, is one of the most desiccation-resistant in the genus, surviving low humidity primarily by reducing its metabolic rate. Genetic control of reduced metabolic rate, however, has yet to be elucidated. We utilized the recently sequenced genome of D. mojavensis to create an oligonucleotide microarray in order to pursue the identities of the genes involved in metabolic regulation during desiccation. We observed large differences in gene expression between male and female D. mojavensis as well as both quantitative and qualitative sex differences in their ability to survive xeric conditions. As expected, genes associated with metabolic regulation and carbohydrate metabolism were differentially regulated between stress treatments. Most importantly, we identified four points in central metabolism (Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, transaldolase, alcohol dehydrogenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase) that indicate the potential mechanisms controlling metabolic rate reduction associated with desiccation resistance. Furthermore, a large number of genes associated with vision pathways also were differentially expressed between stress treatments, especially in females, that may underlie the initial detection of stressful environments and trigger subsequent metabolic changes. Dataset from Transcriptional regulation of metabolism associated with the increased desiccation resistance of the cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis Matzkin,LM and Markow, MA, Genetics.
2010-05-21 | GSE16234 | GEO
Project description:Transcriptome-wide expression variation associated with environmental plasticity and mating success in the cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis
| PRJEB1416 | ENA
Project description:Transcriptome-wide expression variation associated with environmental plasticity and mating success in the cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis
| PRJEB1347 | ENA
Project description:RNA-seq data from cactophilic Drosophila mated females
Project description:Species often produce sterile hybrids early in their evolutionary divergence, and some evidence suggests that hybrid sterility may be associated with deviations or disruptions in gene expression. In support of this idea, many studies have shown that a high proportion of male-biased genes are underexpressed compared to non-sex-biased genes in sterile F1 male hybrids of Drosophila species. In this study, we examined and compared patterns of misexpression in 4 day old sterile male F1 hybrids of Drosophila simulans and its sibling species, D. sechellia. We analyzed hybrids using genome-wide D. melanogaster arrays from the Drosophila Genome Resource Center (DGRC). The results from a custom array (GPL4022) for this species pair, from the custom array and the genome-wide array for the D. simulans-D. mauritiana species pair, and from the larvae of these two species pairs using the custom array, are presented separately. Keywords: Comparison of pure-species Drosophila expression to hybrid expression
Project description:Species often produce sterile hybrids early in their evolutionary divergence, and some evidence suggests that hybrid sterility may be associated with deviations or disruptions in gene expression. In support of this idea, many studies have shown that a high proportion of male-biased genes are underexpressed compared to non-sex-biased genes in sterile F1 male hybrids of Drosophila species. In this study, we examined and compared patterns of misexpression in 4 day old sterile male F1 hybrids of Drosophila simulans and its sibling species, D. mauritiana. We analyzed hybrids using genome-wide D. melanogaster arrays from the Drosophila Genome Resource Center (DGRC). The results from a custom array (GPL4022) for this species pair, from the custom array and the genome-wide array for the D. simulans-D. sechellia species pair, and from the larvae of these two species pairs using the custom array, are presented separately. Keywords: Comparison of pure-species Drosophila expression to hybrid expression