Name: experimental protocol for using drosophila as an invertebrate model system for toxicity testing in the laboratory
Uploaded: 2018-07-10T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Experimental Protocol for Using Drosophila As an Invertebrate Model System for Toxicity Testing in the Laboratory at JoVE.com

This publication was supported by a grant from the Department of Education (PR Award #P031C160025-17, Project title: 84.031C) to the Colorado State University-Pueblo (CSU-Pueblo) Communities to Build Active STEM Engagement (C-BASE). We thank Current Zoology and Elsevier for providing the rights to use the representative results published in previous papers, as well as the editors of JoVE for providing us with the opportunity to publish this protocol. We would also like to thank the C-BASE Program, Dr. Brian Vanden Heuvel (C-BASE and Department of Biology, CSU-Pueblo), CSU-Pueblo Biology department, Thomas Graziano, Dr. Bernard Possidente (Department of Biology, Skidmore College), and Dr. Claire Varian Ramos (Department of Biology, Colorado State University-Pueblo) for their support and assistance.

The following protocol is an experimental protocol used to rear species in the Drosophila genus on contaminated medium when oral ingestion of a toxin is appropriate; other forms of exposure are possible using the Drosophila model11,15,16,26. The methods described in this protocol have been previously described by Hirsch et al.19 and Peterson <e...

Drosophila melanogaster has been established as a powerful model for a range of biological processes due to the extensive conservation of genes and pathways between D. melanogaster and humans13,14. For the same reasons that it&#39;s a powerful model for medical science, Drosophila has emerged as a suitable model system to study the impact of anthropogenic pollution on a range of toxicological endpoints. Several laboratories are successf...

Every year, approximately 1,000 new chemicals are introduced by the chemical industry1,2; however, the environmental impacts of only a small percentage of these chemicals are tested before distribution2,3. Although large-scale catastrophes are uncommon, sublethal and chronic exposure to a large variety of pollutants are widespread in both humans and wildlife4,5. The historical focus of ecotoxicology and environmental toxicology was to test lethality, single chemical exposure, acute exposure, and the physiological effects of exposure, as a means of measuring the impact of pollutants on survival6,7,8,9,10. Although there is a shift towards ethical and non-invasive approaches to animal testing, current approaches are limiting because of the role that development, emergent properties, and external factors (such as population-level and ecosystem-level interactions) play in mediating ecologically-important endpoints8. Therefore, there is a need for methods that incorporate a more holistic approach without sacrificing wildlife and/or vertebrates in the laboratory.
Invertebrate model systems, such as Drosophila melanogaster, are an attractive alternative to address the need for a more holistic approach to toxicity testing. D. melanogaster, was originally developed as an invertebrate model system for human-related genetic research about a century ago11.D. melanogaster is now prominently used as a vertebrate model alternative for several reasons: 1) the conservation of genes and pathways between D. melanogaster and humans; 2) short generation time compared to vertebrate models; 3) inexpensive cost of maintenance; 4) ease in generating large sample sizes; and 5) plethora of phenotypic- and ecologically-relevant endpoints available for testing11,12,13,14,15,16,17.
Several laboratories11,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25 are now using D. melanogaster as a vertebrate model alternative for toxicity testing to understand the impacts of pollution on humans. Local wild species of Drosophila can be utilized, as well, as toxicity models for wildlife (and humans) to answer ecologically-, behaviorally-, and evolutionarily-relevant questions at multiple biological levels of organization. Using species within the Drosophila genus as a model, several measurable endpoints are possible11,15,16,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25. In addition, using the Drosophila model, toxicologists can: 1) ethically link effects at multiple biological levels of the organization; 2) incorporate the role of emergent factors and development; 3) study ecologically-important endpoints (in addition to medically-important endpoints); 4) test multiple stressors simultaneously; 5) and test long-term multigenerational (e.g. evolutionary and transgenerational) implications of stressors. Therefore, using Drosophila as a model system enables a multitude of approaches, not limited to studying mechanistic approaches with inbred strains of D. melanogaster in the laboratory.
In this paper, we present the methods for rearing and collecting Drosophila to answer various toxicological questions. More specifically, we describe the methodology for 1) rearing Drosophila in medium laced with one or more pollutants; 2) collecting Drosophila throughout development (e.g. wandering third-instar larvae, pupal cases, newly-eclosed adults, and mature adults); and 3) rearing Drosophila in the contaminated medium to test intergenerational and transgenerational transmission, as well as evolutionary implications of long-term toxicant exposure. Using this protocol, previous authors18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25 have reported different physiological, genetic, and behavioral effects of developmental lead (Pb2+) exposure. This protocol enables toxicologists to use a more holistic toxicological approach, which is essential to understanding how pollutants are risk factors for both humans and wildlife in an ever increasingly polluted environment.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Carolina Biological Instant Drosophila Medium Formula 4-24</td>
			<td>Carolina Biological</td>
			<td>173204</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Drosophila vials, Narrow (PS), Polystyrene, Superbulk, 1000 vials/unit</td>
			<td>Genessee Scientific</td>
			<td>32-116SB</td>
			<td>Used to store flies</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Flugs Closures for vials and bottles, Narrow plastic vials</td>
			<td>Genessee Scientific</td>
			<td>49-102</td>
			<td>Used to store flies</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cardboard trays, trays only, narrow</td>
			<td>Genessee Scientific</td>
			<td>32-124</td>
			<td>Used to organize populations of flies</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cardboard trays, dividers only, narrow</td>
			<td>Genessee Scientific</td>
			<td>32-126</td>
			<td>Used to organize populations of flies</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Thermo Scientific&#160;Nalgene Square Wide-Mouth HDPE Bottles with Closure</td>
			<td>Fischer Scientific</td>
			<td>03-312D</td>
			<td>Useful for storage of contaminants</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Thermo Scientific&#160;Nalgene Color-Coded LDPE Wash Bottles</td>
			<td>Fischer Scientific</td>
			<td>03-409-17C</td>
			<td>Useful for storage of contaminants</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Eppendorf&#160;Repeater M4 Manual Handheld Pipette Dispenser</td>
			<td>Fischer Scientific</td>
			<td>14-287-150</td>
			<td>Used to prepare medium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Combitips Advanced Pipetter Tips - Standard, Eppendorf Quality Tips</td>
			<td>Fischer Scientific</td>
			<td>13-683-708</td>
			<td>Used to prepare medium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Flypad, Standard Size (8.1 X 11.6cm)</td>
			<td>Genessee Scientific</td>
			<td>59-114</td>
			<td>Used to anesthetize flies</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Flystuff foot valve</td>
			<td>Genessee Scientific</td>
			<td>59-121</td>
			<td>Used to anesthetize flies</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tubing, green (1 continguous foot/unit)</td>
			<td>Genessee Scientific</td>
			<td>59-124G</td>
			<td>Used to anesthetize flies</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mineral Oil, Light, White, High Purity Grade, 500 mL HDPE Bottle</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>97064-130</td>
			<td>Used to make a morgue</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass Erlenmeyer Flask Set - 3 Sizes - 50, 150 and 250ml, Karter Scientific 214U2</td>
			<td>Walmart</td>
			<td>Not applicable</td>
			<td>Used to make a morgue</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BGSET5 Glass Beaker Set Of 5</td>
			<td>Walmart</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Inbred or wildtype line of Drosophila</td>
			<td>Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center at Indiana University</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>https://bdsc.indiana.edu</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Wild popultions of Drosophila</td>
			<td>UC San Diego Drosophila Stock Center</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>https://stockcenter.ucsd.edu/info/welcome.php</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

experimental protocol for using drosophila as an invertebrate model system for toxicity testing in the laboratory

Emergent properties and external factors (population-level and ecosystem-level interactions, in particular) play important roles in mediating ecologically-important endpoints, though they are rarely considered in toxicological studies. D. melanogaster is emerging as a toxicology model for the behavioral, neurological, and genetic impacts of toxicants, to name a few. More importantly, species in the genus Drosophila can be utilized as a model system for an integrative framework approach to incorporate emergent properties and answer ecologically-relevant questions in&#160;toxicology research. The aim of this paper is to provide a protocol for exposing species in the genus Drosophila to pollutants to be used as a model system for a range of phenotypic outputs and ecologically-relevant questions. More specifically, this protocol can be used to 1) link multiple biological levels of organization and understand the impact of toxicants on both individual- and population-level fitness; 2) test the impact of toxicants at different stages of developmental exposure; 3) test multigenerational and evolutionary implications of pollutants; and 4) test multiple contaminants and stressors simultaneously.

By orally exposing Drosophila to a contaminant(s) throughout development, various toxicological questions can be tested by exposing Drosophila at different levels of biological organization. This section presents representative results obtained using this protocol in previously published papers23,24. In particular, this protocol was previously used to evaluate the accumulation, elimination and sequestration of le...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Experimental Protocol for Using Drosophila As an Invertebrate Model System for Toxicity Testing in the Laboratory at JoVE.com

Experimental Protocol for Using Drosophila As an Invertebrate Model System for Toxicity Testing in the Laboratory

In this paper, we provide a detailed protocol for exposing species in the genus Drosophila to pollutants with the goal of studying the impact of exposure on a range of phenotypic outputs at different developmental stages and for more than one generation.

Experimental Protocol for Using Drosophila As an Invertebrate Model System for Toxicity Testing in the Laboratory

Emergent properties and external factors (population-level and ecosystem-level interactions, in particular) play important roles in mediating ...

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

Testing Nicotine Tolerance in Aphids Using an Artificial Diet Experiment

Plants may upregulate the production of many different seconday metabolites in response to insect feeding. One of these metabolites, nicotine, is well ...

Long-term Lethal Toxicity Test with the Crustacean Artemia franciscana

Long-term Lethal Toxicity Test with the Crustacean Artemia franciscana

Our research activities target the use of biological methods for the evaluation of environmental quality, with particular reference to saltwater/brackish ...

Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model System to Study Protein Homeostasis in a Multicellular Organism

Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model System to Study Protein Homeostasis in a Multicellular Organism

The folding and assembly of proteins is essential for protein function, the long-term health of the cell, and longevity of the organism. Historically, the ...

Investigating the Spreading and Toxicity of Prion-like Proteins Using the Metazoan Model Organism C. elegans

Investigating the Spreading and Toxicity of Prion-like Proteins Using the Metazoan Model Organism C. elegans

Prions are unconventional self-propagating proteinaceous particles, devoid of any coding nucleic acid. These proteinaceous seeds serve as templates for ...

A Protocol for Using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis to Identify the Appropriate Animal Model for Translational Research

Recent studies that compared transcriptomic datasets of human diseases with datasets from mouse models using traditional gene-to-gene comparison ...

Laboratory Protocol for Genetic Gut Content Analyses of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Using Group-specific rDNA Primers

Analyzing food webs is essential for a better understanding of ecosystems. For example, food web interactions can undergo severe changes caused by the ...

Establishment of an Extracellular Acidic pH Culture System

Conditions of the tumor microenvironment, such as hypoxia or nutrient starvation, play critical roles in cancer progression and malignancy. However, the ...

A Protocol for Laboratory Housing of Turquoise Killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri)

A Protocol for Laboratory Housing of Turquoise Killifish Nothobranchius furzeri

The development of husbandry practices in non-model laboratory fish used for experimental purposes has greatly benefited from the establishment of ...

Protocols for Testing the Toxicity of Novel Insecticidal Chemistries to Mosquitoes

New classes of insecticides with novel modes of action are needed to control insecticide resistant populations of mosquitoes that transmit diseases such ...

An Air-liquid Interface Bronchial Epithelial Model for Realistic, Repeated Inhalation Exposure to Airborne Particles for Toxicity Testing

For toxicity testing of airborne particles, air-liquid interface (ALI) exposure systems have been developed for in vitro tests in order to mimic realistic ...