Effects of desiccation and starvation on body fats and proteins in wild-caught Drosophila busckii

The wild populations of Drosophila show highly adaptive body metabolism in response to changing environments. The traits associated with starvation and desiccation stress vary with the geographical locations as well as climatic conditions. The energy storage and utilization during these stresses varies among different species. We examined the effects of physiological stress i.e., desiccation and starvation stress in wild populations of Drosophila busckii collected from the Lalpur region including Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) campus (22.67°N 81.75°E), Amarkantak. We found a difference in the level of metabolites between control vs desiccation hardened and starvation acclimated flies along with sexual dimorphism. This study focused on the abilities of wild D. busckii to tolerate physiological stress (desiccation and starvation) by altering the level of energy metabolites. In the present work, the levels of lipid and protein metabolites showed an interesting difference between control vs. hardened flies. Hardening or pre-treatment enhanced the survival against non-lethal stress, while climbing activity, cuticular lipids and total body lipids decreased with the increase in desiccation hardening and starvation acclimation period. We found a significant increase in the level of total body proteins in 3 h desiccation acclimated, and 16 h starvation acclimated flies as compared to control. The female Drosophila busckii were more resistant to sub-lethal stress. The compensatory changes in the levels of total body lipids, cuticular lipids and proteins suggest possible energetic homeostasis in D. busckii .