The Effect of Early Stress on Drosophila melanogaster Development and Fertility

Stress at early stages of development is known to affect a lot of physiological traits in mammals, but much less is known concerning its effect on physiology of Holometabola insects. In this study, we report for the first time that heat stress experienced by 3rd instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster (32°C, 48 h) results in a decrease in egg-to-imago development rate. Such stress also results in a drop in fertility at the beginning of the reproduction period (the first 48 h after the oviposition onset). The data obtained are indicative of the transition of physiological changes caused by early stress through metamorphosis. Thus, the results of our study support the idea of metamorphosis not erasing the influence of factors that affected the insect before its start universally among Holometabola.