Using Doubly-Labeled Water to Measure Energy Expenditure in an Important Small Ectotherm Drosophila melanogaster

Matthew D.W. Piper; Colin Selman; John R. Speakman; Linda Partridge

doi:10.1016/j.jgg.2014.07.004

Volume 41 Issue 9

Sep. 2014

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Article Navigation > Journal of Genetics and Genomics > 2014 > 41(9): 505-512

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Using Doubly-Labeled Water to Measure Energy Expenditure in an Important Small Ectotherm Drosophila melanogaster

doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2014.07.004

a
Institute of Healthy Ageing, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
b
Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
c
Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK
d
State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

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Corresponding author: E-mail address: J.speakman@genetics.ac.cn (John R. Speakman)
Received Date: 2014-04-23
Accepted Date: 2014-07-29
Rev Recd Date: 2014-07-29

Available Online: 2014-08-10

Publish Date: 2014-09-20

Abstract

Abstract

Energy expenditure is a key variable in the study of ageing, and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a model organism that has been used to make step changes in our understanding of the ageing process. Standard methods for measurement of energy expenditure involve placing individuals in metabolic chambers where their oxygen consumption and CO₂ production can be quantified. These measurements require separating individuals from any social context, and may only poorly reflect the environment in which the animals normally live. The doubly-labeled water (DLW) method is an isotope-based technique for measuring energy expenditure which overcomes these problems. However, technical challenges mean that the smallest animals this method has been previously applied to weighed 50–200 mg. We overcame these technical challenges to measure energy demands inDrosophila weighing 0.78 mg. Mass-specific energy expenditure varied between 43 and 65 mW·g⁻¹. These estimates are considerably higher than estimates using indirect calorimetry of Drosophila in small metabolic chambers (around 18 mW·g⁻¹). The methodology we have established extends downwards by three orders of magnitude the size of animals that can be measured using DLW. This approach may be of considerable value in future ageing research attempting to understand the genetic and genomic basis of ageing.
- Doubly-labeled water,
- Respiration rate,
- Effect of mating status and sex

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