Using Drosophila as a model system to study cold tolerance

Abstract

The simple genetics yet high homology of Drosophila genes to their orthologous counterparts in higher organisms and the availability of genetic perturbation toolkits make Drosophila species a powerful system for cold tolerance tests. Particular enzymes including adenosine monophosphate phosphatase have previously been shown to underlie cold tolerance in ice worms by regulating the body energy levels. The mechanism is assumed to be linked to rates of mitochondrial oxidative metabolism; this, in turn, causes the shutdown of molecular thermostats and allows for cold tolerance. To evaluate for cold tolerance in Drosophila, we developed a mobility test of third‐instar larvae under different temperatures. Our results indicate that significant differences in mobility across species are present between certain specified temperature intervals. Remarkably, adult flies survived more than three times longer in lower temperature than that in room temperature. Our findings of tolerance in lower temperatures provide tools to continue studying the effects of lower temperatures on the wild type and genetically perturbed flies, contributing ultimately to the research on extending the tight 24‐hour period shelf life of donated human organs. This research is supported by Dean's Undergraduate Research Fund and Travel Fund and by NIH‐NIGMS R15 GM093685‐01 awarded to DS and NY.