PgmNr D1129: Investigating the role of dietary iron on reactive oxygen species levels in Drosophila.

Authors:
Rebecca A. Vaders; Alexis A. Nagengast


Institutes
Widener University, Chester, PA.


Keyword: nutrition

Abstract:

Aging is a complex process that has a variety of underlying causes. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) cause oxidative damage to proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, and contribute to aging. Although calorie restriction has been linked to an increased lifespan, our previous results showed that Drosophila melanogaster raised on a higher nutrient corn syrup-based diet lived longer than those on a lower nutrient molasses-based diet. We hypothesize that increased iron levels in molasses are contributing to increased ROS and the observed decreased lifespan. An indirect measurement of ROS levels was detected through superoxide dismutase (SOD) expression in males and females using quantitative polymerase chain reactions (qPCR), only to find SOD levels did not vary significantly between the two diets but varied between sexes. Through the use of a UAS-MitoTimer labeled reporter gene, ROS is measured more directly by the irreversible change from green to red fluorescence in the presence of mitochondrial oxidative stress. An evident trend between the expression of SOD and MitoTimer fluorescence has been detected and differences between MitoTimer fluorescence on the molasses, corn syrup and iron supplemented-corn syrup foods are being investigated. Using iron supplementation to further study the changes in lifespan and ROS opens windows to better understand how SOD reacts with other biochemical pathways in order to affect oxidative stress.