Assessment of Lead Toxicity Using Drosophila melanogaster as a Model

Objectives: Lead is recognized as a serious pollutant on the basis of its persistence, toxicity, bioaccumulation and extensive use in industry. Exposure to lead results in a number of cytogenetical effects on freshwater biota which adversely affects the population, including reducing the rate of cell division and inducing mutations. In order to assess the toxicity of lead, a reliable model of Drosophila melanogaster was taken and experiments were carried out by maintaining a control set and experimental sets with varied concentrations of lead.Methods: The toxicity of lead was studied by varying the lead concentrations from 20-60 ppm in the food media that was given to the fruit flies. Studies on the larval, pupal and adult stages of the flies were done, including the reproductive and locomotion efficiency of the flies.Results: The results of our study shows that as the concentration of lead in the media increased from 20 to 60 ppm, there was a visible change in the number of offsprings and the locomotive behavior of flies. Significantly there was a stretch in the time duration in the conversion of larva to pupa and then pupa to adult. The length and width of the pupa was also found to be affected.Conclusion: Long term exposure to lead can have significant effect on the survival of population even if its concentration is low and it may also reflect population adaptive capacity.