This project will investigate the effects of selection for starvation resistance on ovarian development in the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster. Starvation-resistant flies have survived many generations of laboratory-controlled starvation conditions, and are substantially larger than control flies, which were continuously supplied with food. The starvation-selected flies carry much more stored fat, in expanded fat tissues. In most insects, a larger female lays more eggs and therefore has more surviving offspring than a smaller female. This is not the case when large females from the starvation-resistant populations are compared to the smaller females from the control populations. This unexpected situation provides an excellent opportunity to look carefully at the tradeoffs between survival and reproduction, a central theme to the understanding of life cycles for many different species, and how they change during evolution. Because Drosophila melanogaster is a very well studied model organism, this project will use techniques of molecular genetics and cell biology to understand the underlying physiology and genetic changes that have occurred during starvation selection. The experimental toolkit available for Drosophila will be used to test the function of specific candidate genes in ovarian development and fat body function. This project will provide a unique learning environment for graduate students and undergraduates at a minority serving institution, by their participation in an integrated series of scientific activities that link evolutionary biology to developmental biology through an organismal perspective. Outreach activities will include production of videos displayed in the lobby of a highly-trafficked research building on the UNLV campus, participation in the NSF Radio 360 program, and development of a Science Café for the general public. The latter will consist of a monthly series of short presentations and discussions led by scientists and engineers from the UNLV community, government and industry.
