DOES DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER USE ETHANOL AS AN ENERGY-SOURCE DURING STARVATION

The influence of starvation on activities of three enzymes (ADH, ODH a nd alpha GPDH) was studied in Drosophiia melanogaster. The changes wer e compared in two inbred lines which had different allelic combination s at the Odh and Alder loci. We also studied the effect of ethanol on media which contained no sucrose (''starvation conditions''). The resu lts show that there are large differences in the larval and adult alco hol utilization. The alcohol content of the medium, in the absence of sugar, appeared to be toxic for the larvae, while the adults appeared to utilize it as an energy source. The two strains differed little in their responses to starvation or to the ethanol treatment applied unde r starvation conditions. We conclude that the degree of toxicity of et hanol is highly dependent on the presence of sucrose.