RNA Virus Fruit Fly Model: First Study to Measure Single-Fly Respiration

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Aging (Aging-US)

Aging-US published this trending research paper on March 22, 2023, entitled, “RNA virus-mediated changes in organismal oxygen consumption rate in young and old Drosophila melanogaster males" by researchers from the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL; Present Address: Indiana University School of Medicine-Indianapolis, Medical Scientist Training Program, Indianapolis, IN; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, Biostatistics Consulting Center, Bloomington, IN; Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL; Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL; Department of Applied Health Sciences, Indiana University, School of Public Health-Bloomington, Bloomington, IN; Present Address: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, Little Rock, AR; Department of Biology, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL; Center for Convergent Bioscience and Medicine, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL; Alabama Life Research Institute, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL. DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.204593 Corresponding author - Stanislava Chtarbanova - schtarbanova@ua.edu Abstract Aging is accompanied by increased susceptibility to infections including with viral pathogens resulting in higher morbidity and mortality among the elderly. Significant changes in host metabolism can take place following virus infection. Efficient immune responses are energetically costly, and viruses divert host molecular resources to promote their own replication. Virus-induced metabolic reprogramming could impact infection outcomes, however, how this is affected by aging and impacts organismal survival remains poorly understood. RNA virus infection of Drosophila melanogaster with Flock House virus (FHV) is an effective model to study antiviral responses with age, where older flies die faster than younger flies due to impaired disease tolerance. Using this aged host-virus model, we conducted longitudinal, single-fly respirometry studies to determine if metabolism impacts infection outcomes. Analysis using linear mixed models on Oxygen Consumption Rate (OCR) following the first 72-hours post-infection showed that FHV modulates respiration, but age has no significant effect on OCR. However, the longitudinal assessment revealed that OCR in young flies progressively and significantly decreases, while OCR in aged flies remains constant throughout the three days of the experiment. Furthermore, we found that the OCR signature at 24-hours varied in response to both experimental treatment and survival status. FHV-injected flies that died prior to 48- or 72-hours measurements had a lower OCR compared to survivors at 48-hours. Our findings suggest the host’s metabolic profile could influence the outcome of viral infections. Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://aging.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Faging.204593 Subscribe for free publication alerts from Aging - https://www.aging-us.com/subscribe-to-toc-alerts Keywords - aging, Drosophila melanogaster, virus infection, single-fly respirometry, metabolism About Aging-US Launched in 2009, Aging-US publishes papers of general interest and biological significance in all fields of aging research and age-related diseases, including cancer—and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome. Topics in Aging-US go beyond traditional gerontology, including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, human age-related diseases, pathology in model organisms, signal transduction pathways (e.g., p53, sirtuins, and PI-3K/AKT/mTOR, among others), and approaches to modulating these signaling pathways. Please visit our website at https://www.Aging-US.com​​ and connect with us: SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/Aging-Us Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agingjrnl/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@AgingJournal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging/ Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/AgingUS/ Media Contact 18009220957 MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM