Effect of high-sugar feeding on wandering third instar larval fat body gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster

We compared gene expression in the Drosophila fat body on control and high-sugar diets in order to gain insight into the role of this organ during caloric overload. Differential expression analysis revealed changes in gene expression suggestive of a role for CoA metabolism in the ability to tolerate high-sugar feeding. This led us to perform biochemical and mutant studies supporting a model where CoA is limiting in the face of caloric overload. Wild-type Drosophila were reared on control (0.15M sucrose) and high-sugar (0.7M sucrose) diets until the wandering stage. Fat bodies were isolated and RNA extracted to determine the effects of diet on gene expression using Illumina RNA-seq.