title: Stress, altered energy availability and larval fitness in Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: This paper reports some effects of temperature variation, nutritional stress and a novel alteration in energy availability upon larval fitness in Drosophila melanogaster. The cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) has been chosen as a novel energy source to be supplemented in food during larval development. The effects have been assessed at the phenotypic level for larval survival and development time and at the genotypic level for the alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Gpdh) loci. Supplemented NAD was found to increase survival at the lower temperatures and decrease survival at the higher temperatures. Further, for each temperature, NAD decreased development time although this effect diminished as temperature increased. There were no significant effects at the genotypic level. Hence a phenotypic approach studying the effects of environmental stresses and novel energy availability may be useful in understanding fitness variation in Drosophila populations.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D014644:Genetic Variation; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D009243:NAD / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D009243:NAD