Spatial isotope tracing maps compartmentalized nutrient use across the adult fruit fly
Drosophila melanogaster is a powerful model for studying systemic metabolism. Although metabolism is compartmentalized across tissues, prior work in adult Drosophila has mostly measured it in dissected tissues rather than in situ, limiting the spatial information that can be gained. Here, we combine whole-fly mass-spectrometry imaging with stable-isotope tracing and flux modeling to quantify…
Drosophila melanogaster, a model organism for studying metabolism, has primarily been analyzed in dissected tissues. This research combines whole-fly mass-spectrometry imaging with stable-isotope tracing and flux modeling to map metabolic activities within the adult fruit fly at a spatial level. The study analyzes 68 tracer-fed female Oregon-R flies and 187,709 pixels across eight regions, including muscle, fat body, gut, and nervous system.
By labeling glucose and calculating relative fluxes, researchers discovered that glycolytic and tricarboxylic acid cycle activities are higher in thoracic muscle compared to abdominal fat body. Additionally, proline labeling points to the nervous system and eye, while glutamine is associated with the reproductive system and gut.
Alanine transports glucose-derived carbon throughout the hemolymph and contributes nitrogen to glutamate. In flies with gut tumors driven by the Yorkie gene, alanine's contribution to malate increases in the gut and abdomen, and minimizing gut alanine uptake reduces tumor growth. This research establishes a method for quantitative spatial metabolic analysis, demonstrating compartmentalized nutrient utilization across the adult fruit fly.
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