Xavier Choussat
Research Mentor(s): Christi Gendron
Mentor Department: Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Authors: Xavier Choussat, Christi Gendron
Session: Session 2 (10:00am – 10:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 108
Abstract
Components of the insulin signaling pathway have long been known to significantly impact the physiology and lifespan of animals across taxa. However, we don’t understand the full impact that components of the insulin signaling pathway have on these traits, which may provide insight into how this pathway extends longevity. Here, we use the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to address this issue because of their easy husbandry, short lifespan, many genetic tools available, and high degree of molecular homology with mammals. Drosophila have eight insulin-like peptides (DILPs), of which a few have been shown to impact the lifespan of the animal, including DILP2 and DILP3. To better understand how these DILPs impact fly physiology, we used flies mutant for each DILP of each sex and compared them to their background control (w-CS) in both feeding assays (fly liquid interaction counter (FLIC) and blue dye feeding (ConEx)) and metabolic assays (as measured by changes in fat or triglyceride (TAG) levels). We found that male and female DILP3 mutants consumed less amounts of food over a 24 hour period in both the FLIC and ConEx assays compared to their controls. Additionally, some triglyceride levels in DILP-3 mutants were found to be significantly lower than their controls, especially when comparing male flies. This data is the foundation for future research investigating how DILPs impact feeding and longevity.
