INVESTIGATING THE GENETIC BASIS MEDIATING THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL STRESS IN DROSOPHILA
Date
2024-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The acute stress response evolved to enhance the reaction to threats, yet too
much exposure to stress amplifies the acute stress response beyond necessary to
induce a chronic stress response. Chronic stress can lead to physiological and
behavioral changes that negatively impact an organism’s survival. There is a strong
correlation between genetic and environmental influences in an organism’s stress
response. However, identifying the way in which stress influences behavior and gene
expression is crucial to understanding how to regulate the chronic stress response.
Here we show how social stress induces behavioral changes in Drosophila
melanogaster and how the lack of function of the NPF and gnmt genes may rescue or
worsen these phenotypes. We found that social stress impacts feeding behavior and
metabolic activity in wild type flies and observed similar trends in the feeding
behavior of the mutants. Metabolic responses in the mutant flies indicate both partial
rescue and partial worsening of the metabolic phenotypes seen in wild type flies due to
social stress. These results suggest that these genes have different contributions to
feeding and metabolism under the influence of the environmental factors. Our results
demonstrate the intricate interactions between the environment, genotype, behavior,
and physiology. We anticipate that our research can serve as a model for further
investigation of the effects of social stress and genes involved in this response as we
continue to investigate these complex interactions.