Drosophila Endurance Training and Assessment of Its Effects on Systemic Adaptations

Exercise induces beneficial systemic adaptations that reduce the incidence of age-related diseases. However, the molecular pathways that elicit these adaptations are not well understood. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie the exercise response can lead to widely beneficial therapies. Large populations, relatively short lifespan, and easily modifiable genetics make Drosophila a well-suited model system for complex, longitudinal studies. We have developed an enforced climbing apparatus for Drosophila, known as the Power Tower, for the study of systemic exercise adaptations. The Power Tower takes advantage of the fly's natural instinct for negative geotaxis, an innate behavior to run upwards after being tapped to the bottom of their vial. Flies will continuously run either to the point of exhaustion or until the machine is turned off, whichever comes first. After 3 weeks of exercise, male Drosophila adapt to training with a number of conserved, easily quantifiable physiological improvements similar to those seen in mammalian models and humans. Here, we describe a useful endurance training protocol and a suite of post-training assessments that effectively quantify training effects.