Heightened immune surveillance in Drosophila melanogaster populations selected for faster development and extended longevity

Maximization of life-history traits is under constraints due to both, limitations of resource acquisition and the restricted pathways of resource allocation. Drosophila melanogaster has served as an excellent model organism to not only unravel various trade-offs among life history traits but also numerous aspects of host immune response. Drosophila larvae are semi-aquatic that live, feed and excrete inside the food source-often over-ripe fruits and vegetables that are rich in both commensal and pathogenic microbiota that can impact the larval survival. In this study, we have used six populations of D. melanogaster, three of which are selected for faster pre-adult development and extended adult longevity, and their three ancestral controls, to explore the impact of selection on the basal immune activity in the larval stage. The larvae from selected populations had nearly significantly upregulated plasmatocyte density, significantly higher percent phagocytosis, phagocytic index and higher transcript levels of Tep3, eater and NimC1. Selected populations also had significantly upregulated crystal cell number along with higher transcript of PPO2. Out of seven tested AMPs level, Drosomycin was significantly upregulated in selected populations while Drosocin was significantly higher in control populations. ROS levels were comparable in the selected and control populations. Our results strongly suggest that enhanced basal immune activity during larval stage manages the faster development and could be responsible for comparable larval survival of selected and control populations.

Automated summary

The study investigates the impact of selection on basal immune activity in larval stage of D. melanogaster populations. Selected populations showed enhanced immune responses compared to control populations, which could contribute to comparable larval survival in both groups.