Metabolome Analysis of Drosophila melanogaster during Embryogenesis

Abstract

The Drosophila melanogaster embryo has been widely utilized as a model for genetics and developmental biology due to its small size, short generation time, and large brood size. Information on embryonic metabolism during developmental progression is important for further understanding the mechanisms of Drosophila embryogenesis. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the changes in embryos’ metabolome that occur at different stages of the Drosophila embryonic development. Time course samples of Drosophila embryos were subjected to GC/MS-based metabolome analysis for profiling of low molecular weight hydrophilic metabolites, including sugars, amino acids, and organic acids. The results showed that the metabolic profiles of Drosophila embryo varied during the course of development and there was a strong correlation between the metabolome and different embryonic stages. Using the metabolome information, we were able to establish a prediction model for developmental stages of embryos starting from their high-resolution quantitative metabolite composition. Among the important metabolites revealed from our model, we suggest that different amino acids appear to play distinct roles in different developmental stages and an appropriate balance in trehalose-glucose ratio is crucial to supply the carbohydrate source for the development of Drosophila embryo.

Flies without Trehalose

“…A recent metabolome analysis supports our results (17). Because trehalose is synthesized mostly in the fat body, it is likely that trehalose is detectable only after the development of the embryonic fat body.…”

“…Trehalose was almost undetectable in the early embryo (0 -2 h), whereas there were detectable levels of glycogen and TAG. The amount of trehalose increased significantly during the embryonic period; by contrast, the amounts of glycogen and TAG decreased during embryonic development, as reported previously (17,18). These results suggest that during the early stages of embryonic development, stored glycogen and TAG, rather than trehalose, are used primarily as energy sources.…”

Considerations when choosing a genetic model organism for metabolomics studies

“…tissues (e.g. [70–72]), developmental stages [73–76], and sub-cellular compartments). The metabolic inventory for Drosophila tissues completed by Chintapalli [77] is a good model of how such efforts might be undertaken.…”

Application of Metabolomics for High Resolution Phenotype Analysis

“…For example, the authors successfully established the similar prediction model of developmental stage using a nematoda (Caenorhabditis elegans) and a fruit y (Drosophila melanogaster). 10) e present methodology or "metabolic ngerprinting" would be potentially useful to explain the early development dynamism of lower animal. e author addressed whether the present methodology might be applicable for higher animals.…”