Acute exposure to mercury drives changes in gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster

We quantified the effect of acute exposure to a high dosage of inorganic mercury on gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster using RNA-sequencing of whole adult females.

We found 119 genes with higher gene expression following treatment (including all 5 Drosophila metallothionine genes and a number of heat shock protein genes), and 31 with lower expression (several of which are involved in egg formation). Our results highlight biological processes and genetic pathways impacted by exposure to this toxic metal, and provide motivation for future studies to understand the genetic basis of response to mercury.