Drosophila melanogaster as a Model Organism for Obesity and Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus by Applying High-Sugar and High-Fat Diets.

Nieves Baenas,Anika E. Wagner

doi:10.3390/biom12020307

Nieves Baenas, Anika E. Wagner

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12020307

Copy DOI

Journal: Biomolecules	Publication Date: Feb 14, 2022
Citations: 14	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Lübeck, University of Giessen

Abstract

Several studies have been published introducing Drosophila melanogaster as a research model to investigate the effects of high-calorie diets on metabolic dysfunctions. However, differences between the use of high-sugar diets (HSD) and high-fat diets (HFD) to affect fly physiology, as well as the influence on sex and age, have been seldom described. Thus, the aim of the present work was to investigate and compare the effects of HSD (30% sucrose) and HFD (15% coconut oil) on symptoms of metabolic dysfunction related to obesity and type-2 diabetes mellitus, including weight gain, survival, climbing ability, glucose and triglycerides accumulation and expression levels of Drosophila insulin-like peptides (dIlps). Female and male flies were subjected to HSD and HFD for 10, 20 and 30 days. The obtained results showed clear differences in the effects of both diets on survival, glucose and triglyceride accumulation and dIlps expression, being gender and age determinant. The present study also suggested that weight gain does not seem to be an appropriate parameter to define fly obesity, since other characteristics appear to be more meaningful in the development of obesity phenotypes. Taken together, the results demonstrate a key role for both diets, HSD and HFD, to induce an obese fly phenotype with associated diseases. However, further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms how both diets differently affect fly metabolism.

Highlights

Overweight and obesity are linked to the development of various non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including Diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM), cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome and cancer [2], resulting in an increased burden and the possibility of a collapse of global healthcare systems
Male and female w1118 flies were tested for their climbing ability after 10, 20 and 30 days reared either on high-sugar diet (HSD) or high-fat diet (HFD)
HFD caused a significant decrease in the climbing index after both 10 and 30 days, while after 20 days, the climbing index did not differ between flies on a control diet and HFD (Figure 3A)

Summary

Introduction

Overweight and obesity are part of an increasing global epidemic that affects highand, increasingly, low- and middle-income countries. Overweight and obesity are linked to the development of various non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including Diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM), cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome and cancer [2], resulting in an increased burden and the possibility of a collapse of global healthcare systems. The global rise in the incidence of obesity and obesity-related disorders has triggered the need for simple research models to elucidate the underlying mechanisms or dysfunctions implicated in metabolic diseases. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been successfully used for several decades as a model organism mainly in genetic research due to the fact that it conserves approximately 75% of all known human disease-related genes [3]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion