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Long-Chain Dietary Fatty Acids Affect the Capacity of Drosophila melanogaster to Tolerate Ethanol¹

Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia 3168 ^* Department of Biology, Knox College, Galesburg, IL 61401

Four-day post-hatch larvae (mid-third instar) of Drosophila melanogaster were fed an intermediate diet with or without supplement of an individual fatty acid for 2 d and then transferred to a diet with a growth-limiting level of 0.94 mol/L ethanol (5.5%, v/v) or an ethanol-free diet. The ethanol stress decreased survival and larval development rate but increased the weight of surviving adult males. Dietary long-chain fatty acids altered the fatty acid composition of tissue lipids of larvae. When an unsaturated fatty acid was fed, except for 18:2(n-6), the tissue level of total unsaturated fatty acids was markedly increased. Both saturated and unsaturated 18-carbon fatty acids shortened larval development time. Linoleic acid [18:2(n-6)] and linolenic acid [18:3(n-3)] enhanced survival overall and, together with stearic acid (18:0), gave marked protection from ethanol stress in terms of survival. Correlation analysis across the different fatty acid diets indicated a strong positive association between tissue 18-carbon fatty acid levels and ethanol tolerance and between 18-carbon fatty acid levels and development rate. No major differences were observed in the effects of the fatty acids on the Canton-S and OD4 (Tahbilk) wild-type strains. Thus, the fatty acid content of D. melanogaster larvae is important for growth and survival in ethanol-rich habitats.

KEY WORDS: • alcohol tolerance • ethanol • nutrient • Drosophila • fatty acids

¹ We are grateful for support by National Institutes of Health grant no. AA06702 (B.W.G.) and the Australian Research Committee (S.W.M.).

Manuscript received 12 June 1992. Revision accepted 25 August 1992.

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