Fasting as a precursor to high ‐fat diet enhances mitochondrial resilience in Drosophila melanogaster

In this study, we exposed maleDrosophila melanogaster to two modulated dietary treatments: one without a fasting period before exposure to a high-fat diet and the other with a 24-h fasting period. We then investigated mitochondrial metabolism and molecular responses to these treatments. Exposure to a high-fat diet without a preceding fasting period resulted in disrupted mitochondrial respiration, notably at the level of complex I. On the other hand, a short fasting period before the high-fat diet maintained mitochondrial respiration. Generally, transcript abundance of genes associated with mitophagy, heat-shock proteins, mitochondrial biogenesis, and nutrient sensing pathways increased either slightly or significantly following a fasting period and remained stable when flies were subsequently put on a high-fat diet, whereas a drastic decrease of almost all transcript abundances was observed for all these pathways when flies were exposed directly to a high-fat diet. Moreover, mitochondrial enzymatic activities showed less variation after the fasting period than the treatment without a fasting period. Overall, our study sheds light on the mechanistic protective effects of fasting prior to a high-fat diet and highlights the metabolic flexibility ofDrosophila mitochondria in response to abrupt dietary changes and have implication for adaptation of species to their changing environment.
Source: Insect Science - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research