Gut #microbiota -derived lysine phenylacetylation impairs mitochondrial function and is alleviated by SIRT3
#mitochondria #microbiology #metabolism
https://davidojcius.blogspot.com/2026/06/gut-microbiota-derived-lysine.html
Sulfentrazone (SULF) is a widely used herbicide characterized by environmental persistence and potential off-target dispersion, yet its chronic sublethal effects on insects remain insufficiently understood. Because conventional toxicity assessments often prioritize lethality endpoints, they may overlook functional impairments that compromise organismal fitness. Here, we used Drosophila melanogaster as an integrative insect model to evaluate whether chronic exposure to sublethal concentrations of the commercial formulation Boral® 500 SC (SULF) affects development, female reproduction, locomotor performance, metabolic status, longevity, and stress resistance. The herbicide did not significantly affect developmental parameters, but significantly reduced longevity in both female and male flies. Moreover, exposure impaired climbing locomotor performance and exacerbated age-related functional decline. In females, a significant reduction in body weight was observed at 7 days of age, along with decreased carbohydrate levels at 30 days, whereas males exhibited increased lipid accumulation at 30 days of age. Oviposition rate was significantly reduced at 0.25 mg/L and 0.5 mg/L, and females exposed to 0.5 mg/L also displayed reduced resistance to paraquat-induced oxidative stress. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed significant correlations between metabolic and behavioral parameters, highlighting the central role of energy reserves in mediating physiological and behavioral dysfunctions. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that Boral® 500 SC induces biologically relevant sublethal effects in D. melanogaster, suggesting that current regulatory methodologies may substantially underestimate the ecological risks of SULF to insects, thereby potentially contributing to population declines in non-target species. Graphical abstract
Genetic-background studies require defined perturbations that can be crossed reproducibly into many recipient backgrounds. We generated a Drosophila dilp2GS-rpr donor line for adult-inducible ablation of insulin-producing cells (IPCs), which secrete insulin-like peptides and provide a tractable model of insulin-deficient metabolic physiology. This line carries dilp2-GeneSwitch-GAL4 and UAS-reaper in cis on the same second chromosome homolog over a balancer. PCR genotyping and sequencing confirmed both transgenic elements in the candidate recombinant line. RU486 induction reduced dilp2 mRNA expression, supporting partial IPC ablation. Treatment-duration testing identified 8 days of RU486 as sufficient to increase whole-body glucose in the dilp2GS-rpr line but not in the background-matched control; food intake did not differ between RU486- and vehicle-treated flies. Across metabolic assays, whole-body glucose showed the clearest RU486- and line- dependent phenotype. This validated dilp2GS-rpr line enables testing how recipient genetic backgrounds modify inducible IPC/DILP metabolic phenotypes and provides a framework for similar linked donor-line resources. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, R15GM152956, R35GM160135
flypapers
David Ojcius