Paraquat administration in Drosophila for use in metabolic studies of oxidative stress

Paraquat (PQ) is widely used in the laboratory to induce in vivo oxidative stress, particularly in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. PQ administration to the fly traditionally involves feeding in a 1% sucrose solution; however, a diet high in sucrose can itself be stressful. We examined a novel method of PQ administration: incorporation into the fly's standard cornmeal-sucrose-yeast diet. This method successfully delivers PQ to the fly at concentrations similar to those of the traditional method but with fewer possibly confounding complications.