Evolved changes in gene expression in response to diet regimes in Drosophila melanogaster
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The nutrients within one's environment affect how resources are allocated within organisms as well as their metabolism. The insulin/IGF (insulin-like growth factor) signaling pathway (IIS), a conserved pathway required for metabolism within Drosophila melanogaster, is crucial for regulating glucose and energy metabolism in the body. Dysregulation of this pathway can result in serious health problems, such as diabetes and obesity. To gain insights into the genetic factors underlying these conditions, we used three experimental evolution treatments to select for divergent resource allocation patterns in Drosophila for multiple generations. At multiple time points during experimental evolution, we assessed how gene expression was evolving in the different diet regimes. First, all lines were placed on a low-yeast diet, a standard diet, and a highsugar diet. Then, we collected genome-wide gene expression data of female heads, ovaries, and bodies through RNAseq in generations 5, 10, 19, and 31 to track these expression levels during adaptation to their respective diet regimes. Our primary objective is to find differences in expression within the IIS, a conserved pathway required for metabolism within Drosophila in different generations. A principal component analysis revealed that tissue differences contribute the most to variance in the dataset. An Akaike information criterion model comparison analysis revealed that diet contributes more to the variation in the dataset than the selection treatment. This comprehensive dataset provides a picture of how expression in the IIS pathway is affected by selection regime, diet treatment, and organ type.
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M.S.