The Responses of Drosophila melanogaster to Artificial Selection on Body Weight and its Phenotypic Plasticity in Two Larval Food Environments

Evolution ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elke Hillesheim ◽  
Stephen C. Stearns
2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (43) ◽  
pp. 13284-13289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geir H. Bolstad ◽  
Jason A. Cassara ◽  
Eladio Márquez ◽  
Thomas F. Hansen ◽  
Kim van der Linde ◽  
...  

Precise exponential scaling with size is a fundamental aspect of phenotypic variation. These allometric power laws are often invariant across taxa and have long been hypothesized to reflect developmental constraints. Here we test this hypothesis by investigating the evolutionary potential of an allometric scaling relationship in drosophilid wing shape that is nearly invariant across 111 species separated by at least 50 million years of evolution. In only 26 generations of artificial selection in a population of Drosophila melanogaster, we were able to drive the allometric slope to the outer range of those found among the 111 sampled species. This response was rapidly lost when selection was suspended. Only a small proportion of this reversal could be explained by breakup of linkage disequilibrium, and direct selection on wing shape is also unlikely to explain the reversal, because the more divergent wing shapes produced by selection on the allometric intercept did not revert. We hypothesize that the reversal was instead caused by internal selection arising from pleiotropic links to unknown traits. Our results also suggest that the observed selection response in the allometric slope was due to a component expressed late in larval development and that variation in earlier development did not respond to selection. Together, these results are consistent with a role for pleiotropic constraints in explaining the remarkable evolutionary stability of allometric scaling.


2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRIGITTE MORETEAU ◽  
PATRICIA GIBERT ◽  
JEAN-MARIE DELPUECH ◽  
GEORGES PETAVY ◽  
JEAN R. DAVID

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Saidul Islam ◽  
Yan Yan Jin ◽  
Hea-Jong Chung ◽  
Hyeon-Jin Kim ◽  
So-Hyeon Baek ◽  
...  

Resveratrol is the best-known chemical for extending the lifespan of various organisms. Extensive recent research has shown that resveratrol can extend the lifespan of single-celled organisms, but its effects on the extension of animal lifespans are marginal. Despite the limited efficacy of pure resveratrol, resveratrol with the endogenous property of the DJ rice in the resveratrol rice DJ526 previously showed profound health benefits. Here, we report that the resveratrol rice DJ526 markedly extended the lifespan of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster by as much as 41.4% compared to that of the control. The resveratrol rice DJ526 also improved age-related symptoms such as locomotive deterioration, body weight gain, eye degeneration and neurodegeneration in D. melanogaster upon aging. This result shows the most significantly improved lifespan in animal experiments to date, meaning that the resveratrol rice DJ526 will assist in the development of a therapeutic agent for longevity or addressing age-related degeneration.


1990 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew G. Clark ◽  
Frances M. Szumski ◽  
Karen A. Bell ◽  
Lisa Esterling Keith ◽  
Sharyn Houtz ◽  
...  

SummaryA large outbred population ofDrosophila melanogasterwas subjected to artificial selection on lipid and glycogen storage. In three separate experiments, two replicates underwent sib selection for both increased and decreased storage. In the first study, flies were selected on the basis of total triacylglycerol for ten generations. This experiment resulted in no significant direct response, but there was a significant change in total body weight, underscoring the importance of concern for the allometric relationship between body weight and lipid content. In the second study, selection was performed for 15 generations on the percentage of body composition that was triacylglycerol. A significant direct response was obtained, and the two replicates revealed heritability estimates of 0·40 and 0·43. The third study selected glycogen content for 15 generations, and produced a significant response with heritabilities of 0·25 and 0·31. A series of 12 biochemical and enzyme kinetic traits was examined at five generation intervals in all experiments, and a number of correlated responses were detected. The results are interpreted with respect to the evolutionary constraints on energy storage evolution and the genetic basis of the allometric relationship between body weight and fat content.


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