Lipidomic profiling of Drosophila strains Canton-S and white1118 reveals intraspecific lipid variations in basal metabolic rate

Drosophila melanogaster is a well-established model system for studies on lipid metabolism and energy homeostasis. In this study, we identified and quantified the main components of the lipid profile of two widely utilized Drosophila strains, namely Canton-S and white1118, under identical experimental conditions. Differences observed between the strains can be attributed to inherent metabolic divergences, thus limiting the influence of confounding factors. Using the comprehensive lipid data acquired, we applied cluster analysis and PLS-DA techniques to ascertain whether the lipidome could effectively differentiate between the strains. Certain lipid features, such as triacylglycerols, polar lipids, and specific sterol components, could be distinguished between flies of both strains regardless of sex. Our results suggest that although Canton-S and white1118 have similar lipid profiles and distributions, a selected subset of lipids demonstrates clear discriminatory potential between strains, thereby bearing significant implications for planning biological studies using these strains as control references.

This study was funded by the projects PID2020–114821RB-I00 and PID2020–114533GB-C21, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; also by “ERDF A way of making Europe”; and by an FPU (Formación de Profesorado Universitario) grant to Victor Mendoza-Grimau from the MCIN (FPU19/05618).

Peer reviewed