Effects of High Sugar Diet on the state and fate of Germline Stem cells in Adult Female drosophila Melanogaster

Abstract

The last few decades have evidenced an alarming increase in high dietary sugar-induced metabolic disorders such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, certain can- cers, and inflammation. Effects of such consumption have resulted in obesity-related dis- orders in females, such as reduced fertility and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Ef- forts are underway to understand the mechanistic basis of this process. In this study, using Drosophila as a model organism, we tried to uncover how the adipocytes communicate the nutritional status to modulate the state of the ovarian Germline Stem Cells (GSCs). Our results revealed that the precocious loss of GSCs under conditions of high dietary sugar is independent of niche composition. Previous findings from our lab demonstrated the in- volvement of Fatty acid-β oxidation and histone acetylation in adipocytes as a part of this process. We found that downregulating histone acetylation in the fat cells of flies fed on high sugar diet restores the precocious differentiation of the GSCs. Currently, we are focus- ing on the interorgan communication factor involved in this process. Together, our results provide valuable insights into how the altered metabolic landscape in adipocytes, under conditions of high dietary sugar, impacts the dynamics of the GSC state and fate.