Expression data from control and high sugar-fed third instar Drosophila larvae

Chronic high sugar feeding induces obesity, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance in flies and mammals. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying this response, we profiled gene expression in chronically high sugar fed, wandering (post-prandial) third instar wild type larvae (L3). These data were compared to control-fed larvae as well as those (mid-L3) actively feeding for twelve hours on both diets. We used microarrays to detail the response of Drosophila larvae to high sugar-induced insulin resistance. Male Canton-S third instar larvae were fed control (0.15M) or high (1M) sucrose and selected for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. Wandering L3 were selected as those in the top half of the vial with partial blue guts to confirm that they had stopped eating the (blue) food. Mid-L3 were selected as L2, aged overnight until early L3, then transferred to fresh control or high sucrose food for 12 more hours before selection.