Combined Effect of Heavy Metals on Longevity of Drosophila Melanogaster

Heavy metals have been considered as one of the key environmental toxicants with a wide range of health effects on humans. The bulk of information available today is mainly focused on the single toxin studies with only few studies enumerating the synergistic, additive or protective effects of these heavy metals. Drosophila has great potential as a model system for studying toxic effects because they have metallothioneins similar to those of mammals. In current study, Drosophila was used as a model to investigate the effects of two prominent heavy metals- Lead (Pb) and Zinc (Zn) with respect to the longevity of the D. melanogaster. Larval feeding method was employed throughout the developmental period of the experimental subjects to administer the compounds singly or in combination while maintaining multiple replicates in order to minimize experimental error. Subsequently, number of adults survived was recorded. Our results show that developmental exposure of sub lethal concentrations of lead acetate and zinc chloride provokes disturbances in lifespan of the flies.