Meeting Abstract

P3.48  Monday, Jan. 6 15:30  The role of fit in Drosophila melanogaster starvation response, eating behavior, and lipid storage SCHULTZHAUS, JN*; MOEHLMAN, AT; CARNEY, GE; Texas A&M University; Texas A&M University; Texas A&M University jschultzhaus@bio.tamu.edu

female specific independent of transformer (fit) expression increases in D. melanogaster courting males and in both sexes after mating. In contrast, fit expression decreases during starvation in males and females. fit expression is enriched in the fat body, an insect tissue that is analogous to vertebrate fat. The fat body stores excess nutrients that are mobilized during starvation. This information led us to investigate how fit mutants respond to starvation. We found that both fit mutant males and females are starvation resistant, a phenotype that is reversed in males by fit expression in the fat body. fit mutants may be starvation resistant because they consume more food than controls prior to starvation. To test this, we monitored the total amount of food consumed from eclosion until starvation using the CAFE assay. Another possible explanation for starvation resistance is either increased storage before or slower use of lipids in the fat body during starvation. We used Nile Red and Oil Red O to stain lipids in the fat bodies of fed fit mutants and controls to examine whether the absence of fit leads to altered lipid storage. We also examined the fat bodies of fit mutants and controls throughout starvation to determine when lipid stores are depleted.