Drosophila Melanogaster - Biosensors of Atmospheric Oxidative Stress

Studies of Drosophila melanogaster have led to §molecular insights concerning biomolecular §mechanisms of biology and disease including §development, differentiation, cancer and aging. §Wild-type Drosophila, unlike vertebrate mammals, §selectively retains gamma-tocopherol over alpha-§tocopherol. Urate-deficient Drosophila compared to §wild-type had similar levels of glutathione but only §50% of the ascorbate levels. Dietary §supplementation with ascorbate dramatically §increased its level while chemically-defined diets §led to rapid depletion of ascorbate in both strains. §It is concluded that Drosophila do not synthesize §ascorbate, and in this respect are similar to §humans. Wild-type and urate-deficient Drosophila §were continuously exposed to ozone. Exposure of §Drosophila to 2 ppm ozone/24hrs/day unmasked a §marked sensitivity phenotype of urate-deficient §Drosophila. Studies revealed that ascorbate §supplementation decreased ozone-induced toxicity in §Drosophila. Collectively, these data reveal the §usefulness of Drosophila as a model organism for §studying micronutrient antioxidants and their §interrelationship with ozone-induced toxicity.