title: Natural variability in Drosophila larval and pupal NaCl tolerance.
abstract: The regulation of NaCl is essential for the maintenance of cellular tonicity and functionality, and excessive salt exposure has many adverse effects. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is a good osmoregulator and some strains can survive on media with very low or high NaCl content. Previous analyses of mutant alleles have implicated various stress signaling cascades in NaCl sensitivity or tolerance; however, the genes influencing natural variability of NaCl tolerance remain for the most part unknown. Here, we use two approaches to investigate natural variation in D. melanogaster NaCl tolerance. We describe four D. melanogaster lines that were selected for different degrees of NaCl tolerance, and present data on their survival, development, and pupation position when raised on varying NaCl concentrations. After finding evidence for natural variation in salt tolerance, we present the results of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping of natural variation in larval and pupal NaCl tolerance, and identify different genomic regions associated with NaCl tolerance during larval and pupal development.
authors.affiliation: Biology Dept., University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd., Mississauga, Ont. L5C 1J6, Canada.
authors.forename: Craig A L
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Riedl
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oster
authors.affiliation: Biology Dept., University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd., Mississauga, Ont. L5C 1J6, Canada.
authors.forename: Macarena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Busto
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Box 7614, North Carolina State University, NC 27695, USA.
authors.forename: Trudy F C
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Mackay
authors.affiliation: Biology Dept., University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd., Mississauga, Ont. L5C 1J6, Canada; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 25 Willcocks St., University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada. Electronic address: marla.sokolowski@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Marla B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Sokolowski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003470:Culture Media; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D007814:Larva / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D011679:Pupa / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics; D055049:Salt Tolerance / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media
keywords: Drosophila melanogaster; NaCl; Natural variation; Pupation position; QTL