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Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Assessment of Chemical Toxicity in Adult Drosophila Melanogaster
Published on: March 24, 2023
Changes in lipid classes of Drosophila melanogaster in response to selection for three stress traits
Li Ko1, Lawrence Harshman1, Sandra Hangartner2
1School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska Lincoln, 1104 T St, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA.
Abstract:
Laboratory selection on environmental stress traits is an evolutionary approach that is informative in the context of understanding stress adaptation. Here we characterize changes in a lipidome of Drosophila melanogaster in lines selected for increased heat (elevated heat knockdown refractoriness), cold (decreased time to recover from chill-coma) and desiccation survival. Selection for desiccation resistance resulted in changes in multiple lipid classes used to characterize a lipidome. This included a decrease in triacylglycerols (TAGs) which is relevant to interpretation of storage lipid levels in previous D. melanogaster desiccation survival selection experiments. Chill-coma recovery rate selection was expected to show extensive changes in lipid classes, but only phosphatidic acids exhibited significant change. Selection for increased heat knockdown resistance resulted in a substantial change in the abundance of a class of lipids (diacylglycerols) which could play a role in mediating the heat shock response or result in an increase in neutral lipid mobilization.
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