Altered mitochondrial functionality in metabolic disorders: insights from Drosophila studies

The pathophysiological association between obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) increasingly highlights the central role of mitochondrial dysfunction. As critical signaling hubs orchestrating metabolism, mitochondria are pivotal in maintaining metabolic homeostasis. Imbalances in mitochondrial quality control mechanisms lead to an accumulation of damaged mitochondria with abnormal dynamics and functions, exacerbating the progression of obesity, insulin resistance, and T2D. Although therapeutic interventions for obesity and T2D have shown promise, they remain insufficient for achieving sustained remission from obesity and T2D on a global scale. Furthermore, existing rodent models often struggle to fully recapitulate human metabolic disorders due to species-specific metabolic differences and technical limitations. Drosophila melanogaster has emerged as a powerful model organism for deciphering mitochondrial-metabolism interactions due to numerous advantages, including easy genetic manipulation, low gene redundancy, rapid phenotype verification, and the unique opportunity to image live tissues in vivo. Drosophila models effectively recapitulate high-sugar- and high-fat-diet-induced mitochondrial fragmentation, adipose tissue expansion, and insulin resistance-like phenotypes. Furthermore, studies leveraging the genetic tractability of Drosophila have provided critical insights into how mitochondrial impairment contributes to systemic metabolic dysfunction. Here, we introduce recent advances in mitochondrial research regarding metabolic disorders and demonstrate how Drosophila serves as a useful in vivo model to dissect mitochondrial function. Future research should integrate multi-omics approaches and precision medicine strategies targeting mitochondrial metabolic remodeling to break the vicious cycle of obesity and T2D, while developing non-invasive intervention methods to advance translational medicine.