| Autor: |
Mateus RP; Laboratório de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste - UNICENTRO, Guarapuava, Paraná, Brazil.; The Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad, CINVESTAV, Irapuato, Guanajuato, México., Nazario-Yepiz NO; The Laboratorio Nacional de Geno´mica para la Biodiversidad, CINVESTAV, Irapuato, Guanajuato, México., Ibarra-Laclette E; Red de Estudios Moleculares Avanzados, Instituto de Ecología, El Haya, Xalapa, Ver., México., Ramirez Loustalot-Laclette M; The Laboratorio Nacional de Geno´mica para la Biodiversidad, CINVESTAV, Irapuato, Guanajuato, México., Markow TA; The Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad, CINVESTAV, Irapuato, Guanajuato, México.; The Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA. |
| Abstrakt: |
Drosophila mojavensis normally breeds in necrotic columnar cactus, but they also feed and breed in Opuntia fruit (prickly pear) which serves as a seasonal resource. The prickly pear fruits (PPFs) are much different chemically from cacti, mainly in their free sugars and lipid content, raising the question of the effects of this seasonal shift on fitness and on gene expression. Here we reared 3 isofemale strains of D. mojavensis collected from different parts of the species' range on semi-natural medium of either cactus or PPF and measured the development time, survival, body weights, and desiccation resistance. All these parameters were affected by diet and by interaction with strain and or sex. Interestingly, however, there appear to be tradeoffs: flies developed faster in prickly pear and the emerging adults were heavier, but those having grown in cactus were more resistant to desiccation. We also evaluated the gene expression of emerging male and female adult flies using RNA-Seq. While more genes were down-regulated in PPF than up-regulated in both sexes, the sexes did differ in expression patterns. The majority of the genes that were preferentially expressed comparing PPF versus cactus underlie metabolism. Genes involved with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, as well as with the amino acid serine, and their relationship to growth and development reflect the ways in which these dietary differences affect the flies. |
