Project description:Bowman-Birk Inhibitor (BBI) has both insecticidal and anti-cancerous properties. It has been hypothesized that dietary BBI slows insect growth by inhibiting the catalytic activity of digestive enzymes trypsins and chyomotrypsins, resulting in the midgut having reduced access to amino acids needed for growth. In mammals, BBI was hypothesized to influence cellular energy metabolism. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that dietary BBI also impacts energy-associated pathways in the midgut of Drosophila melanogaster. We investigated the impact of dietary BBI on the following parameters in the midguts of third-instar Drosophila larvae: (i) cellular metabolites, (ii) global transcriptome response, (iii) putative transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) associated with the differentially expressed transcripts, and (iv) epithelial cellular structure. Dietary BBI caused: (i) a reduction of cellular DHAP, glucose, and succinate; and, (ii) increased Fructuse-6-phosphate; (ii) differential expression of genes associated with the glucose and fatty acid utilization; and, (iii) a shortening of midgut epithelial microvilli, a phenomenon previously associated with glucose starvation. Additionally, fifty seven percent of the putative TFBSs associated with the differentially expressed transcripts have previously been associated with glucose and insulin activities in mammalian studies. Collectively these results support the hypothesis that dietary BBI influences energy utilization in the Drosophila midgut. Keywords: stress response
Project description:Bowman-Birk Inhibitor (BBI) has both insecticidal and anti-cancerous properties. It has been hypothesized that dietary BBI slows insect growth by inhibiting the catalytic activity of digestive enzymes trypsins and chyomotrypsins, resulting in the midgut having reduced access to amino acids needed for growth. In mammals, BBI was hypothesized to influence cellular energy metabolism. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that dietary BBI also impacts energy-associated pathways in the midgut of Drosophila melanogaster. We investigated the impact of dietary BBI on the following parameters in the midguts of third-instar Drosophila larvae: (i) cellular metabolites, (ii) global transcriptome response, (iii) putative transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) associated with the differentially expressed transcripts, and (iv) epithelial cellular structure. Dietary BBI caused: (i) a reduction of cellular DHAP, glucose, and succinate; and, (ii) increased Fructuse-6-phosphate; (ii) differential expression of genes associated with the glucose and fatty acid utilization; and, (iii) a shortening of midgut epithelial microvilli, a phenomenon previously associated with glucose starvation. Additionally, fifty seven percent of the putative TFBSs associated with the differentially expressed transcripts have previously been associated with glucose and insulin activities in mammalian studies. Collectively these results support the hypothesis that dietary BBI influences energy utilization in the Drosophila midgut. Experiment Overall Design: Two treatments (control vs BBI-fed), and three replicates were conducted. There were total six samples. There was no dye-swap.