The nutrients within one's environment affect how resources are allocated within organisms as well as their metabolism. The insulin/IGF (insulin-like growth factor) signaling pathway (IIS), a conserved pathway required for metabolism within Drosophila melanogaster, is crucial for regulating glucose and energy metabolism in the body. Dysregulation of this pathway can result in serious health problems, such as diabetes and obesity. 

To gain insights into the genetic factors underlying these conditions, we used three experimental evolution treatments to select for divergent resource allocation patterns in Drosophila for multiple generations. A fluctuating availability treatment (FA) that goes from standard diet to low yeast to standard, a deteriorating availability treatment (DA) that goes from standard diet to low yeast, and a constant high availability treatment (CHA) that consists of high sugar throughout adulthood. At multiple timepoints during experimental evolution, we assessed how gene expression was evolving in the different diet regimes. First, all lines were placed on a low yeast diet, a standard diet, and a high sugar diet. Then, we collected genome-wide gene expression data of female heads, ovaries, and bodies through RNAseq in generations 5, 10, 19 and 31 to track these expression levels during adaptation to their respective diet regimes. 

Our primary objective is to find differences in expression within the IIS, a conserved pathway required for metabolism within Drosophila in different generations. This comprehensive dataset provides a picture of how expression in the IIS pathway is affected by selection regime, diet treatment, and organ type.

Thesis Committee Members

• Dr. Elizabeth King, Chair
• Dr. Dave Kang
• Dr. Idethia Harvey