Booth Id:
BMED084
Category:
Biomedical and Health Sciences
Year:
2021
Finalist Names:
Hood, Emily (School: Brookhaven Academy)
Abstract:
The American diet, rich in carbohydrates, has been implicated in the rise of metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome includes various conditions that increase a person’s risk for
cardiovascular disease and stroke. The model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, was used t0
determine the effect of carbohydrates on development and locomotion. The high carbohydrate
diets retarded larval growth and development as reflected by increased
pupation and eclosion half-times and a decrease in mass at matched time points.
Despite the delayed development, larvae reared on the high carbohydrate diets eventually
eclosed following a rapid increase in mass during the 24-48 hours immediately preceding
eclosion. Locomotion studies indicated both 1:0 and 1:6 diets impaired larval movement.
Adults reared on the 1:2 diet showed a faster reaction to negative geotaxis. Small size and lack
of movement result from the flies’ inability to process the excess sugars. The flies’ response
correlates with symptoms found in both type I and type II diabetes. In conclusion, these data
suggest that dietary carbohydrates' metabolism is linked to the development and movement of D.
melanogaster larvae and adults. Understanding this link could provide mechanistic insight into
the relationship between carbohydrate metabolism and metabolic syndrome.