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Related Experiment Videos

Insectivory and social digestion in Drosophila.

T G Gregg1, A McCrate, G Reveal

  • 1Zoology Department, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056.

Biochemical Genetics
|April 1, 1990
PubMed
Summary

Drosophila larvae can digest diverse materials like insect exoskeletons externally using secreted enzymes. This external digestion explains their large salivary glands and clustering behavior.

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Area of Science:

  • Zoology
  • Insect Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Drosophila larvae were traditionally thought to feed primarily on yeast and microorganisms.
  • The full dietary range and digestive capabilities of Drosophila larvae remained largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the ability of Drosophila larvae to consume and digest diverse substrates beyond microorganisms.
  • To elucidate the mechanism of external digestion in Drosophila larvae.

Main Methods:

  • Raising sterile dechorionated Drosophila eggs to adulthood on adult carcasses under axenic conditions.
  • Analyzing the external digestion of complex polymers like chitin, amylose, and cellulose.

Main Results:

  • Drosophila larvae demonstrated the ability to consume and digest complex substrates, including insect exoskeletons.
  • External digestion of substrates like chitin, amylose, and cellulose was confirmed, occurring without direct physical contact.
  • Larvae were shown to egest digestive enzymes onto substrates for external breakdown of large polymers.

Conclusions:

  • Drosophila larvae possess enzymes for external digestion of a wide variety of substrates.
  • External digestion is a key feeding strategy for Drosophila larvae, explaining physiological traits.
  • This digestive strategy may be conserved in other dipteran species.

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