Costs and Benefits of Activation of the Heat-Shock Response in Drosophila melanogaster

• DOI: 10.2307/2390232
• Publication Date: 2006-06-17T06:55:08Z
• Authors: R. A. Krebs; V. Loeschcke
• Keywords: 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences

1. The costs of conditioning adult Drosophila melanogaster with a mild thermal stress that activates the genes for heat-shock proteins were examined by comparing the number of offspring produced by females maintained continuously at 25 o C with females exposed to a non-lethal stress, 36 o C for 75 min, once, twice or three times. The comparison was done under two nutritional treatments, with or without yeast added to the medium. 2. Benefits of conditioning adult D. melanogaster to thermal stress were examined by comparing survival after a severe stress (39 o C for 100 min) among flies that were not conditioned with those conditioned once, twice or three times by exposure to 36 o C for 75 min