Effects of dietary iron on phenotypic characteristics of fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster)

Abstract

The effects of different concentrations of iron sulfate on progeny production, life cycle, and lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster were analyzed in this study. Effects of iron accumulation on progeny production and life cycle were analyzed by culturing fruit flies with different doses of iron. Compared to the control group, the result showed a significantly increasing number of the progeny in both F1 and F2 generations when using 1 mg/l iron dose. A significant lengthening of the life cycle was observed from F1 to F3 in case of 5 mg/l and from F1 to F4 for 10 mg/l iron fortified media. Lifespan experiments indicated that the female flies have a slightly longer lifespan in 0.3 mg/l and 1 mg/l group while male flies showed slightly longer lifespan than female in case of 10 mg/l group