View Program - 63rd Annual Drosophila Research Conference

Drosophila melanogaster is a well-established model system within the biomedical research community, however, there currently exists a large gap in the field: the lack of a standardized diet. Standardization is critical for understanding the effects of dietary changes on stem cells in Drosophila melanogaster. This study sought to determine the effects that reducing carbohydrates and/or adding antioxidants to the diet could have on intestinal stem cells (ISCs) in the Drosophila melanogaster midgut. Our study analyzed morphological changes in ISCs that occurred as a result of the use of one of three dietary groups designed to work against oxidative stress in contrast with the control. By using four experimental groups, this study was able to consider the effects of reducing sources of oxidative stress, providing protective measures against oxidative stress, and the potential synergistic or antagonistic effects between these two dietary manipulations. Experimental groups had a reduction of carbohydrates, the inclusion of antioxidants, or the combination of both manipulations. This multimodal approach allowed the observation of morphological changes in the ISCs that could potentially only be a result of the overlap between the two variable changes. We hypothesized that a diet lower in oxidative stress could ameliorate premature dysplasia in the Drosophila melanogaster midguts. Intestinal samples were analyzed using whole mount fluorescent microscopy and CellProfiler to quantify changes in the number and/or morphology of ISCs between experimental groups. Data was collected using CellProfiler to measure the cell count and area of GFP stained cells, and normalized to DAPI stained cells. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a 95% confidence interval showed a significant difference among groups (p=0.007), that could be attributed to the combination of lower carbohydrates and added antioxidants, as determined by a post hoc Tukey test. These initial results would indicate that the addition of antioxidants in combination with the reduction of carbohydrates appears to promote a higher density of progenitor cells in ISCs of Drosophila melanogaster, contrary to our original prediction. Our work demonstrates how even slight dietary manipulations can have detectable effects on ISC biology and will hopefully serve as a basis for future studies exploring the link between diet and intestinal homeostasis.

Comparitive Effectiveness of Antioxiant and Lowered Carbohydrate Diets on Dysplastic Guts