Meeting Abstract

P1.51  Thursday, Jan. 3  The Contribution of Larval Energy Stores to Adult Reproduction in Drosophila melanogaster. AGUILA, J.R.*; GIBBS, A.G.; HOSHIZAKI, D.K.; Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas aguilaj@unlv.nevada.edu

The larval stage of holometabolous insects is characterized by extensive feeding. This supports the rapid growth of the animal and allows the accumulation of energy stores, primarily in the larval fat body. In previous work, we have shown that energy stores acquired during larval development are later transmitted to the adult via the larval fat cells. As these cells undergo cell death in the early adult, starvation resistance declines, despite the fact that the adult is feeding. In this study, we demonstrate that mobilization of larval energy stores by cell death allows differential allocation between somatic and reproductive tissues. We genetically blocked larval fat cell death in female flies. Initial reproduction was delayed three days and overall fecundity decreased by 60%. This suggests that energy reserves from the larval fat body are utilized directly for reproduction. We are testing this hypothesis by using stable isotope techniques to track larval versus adult-derived nutrients. Our study shows an important energetic tradeoff between reproduction and survival under stressful conditions. Supported by NSF award IOS-0719551 to DKH and AGG.