Toluene exposure and the resulting toxicity effects of on fly fecundity and offspring development in Drosophila Melanogaster

Toluene is a volatile hydrocarbon located in industrial sites and in many household products. This chemical is classified as noncancerous, but air-toxic, and chronic exposure can have negative effects on human organ function, fetal development, and can cause hormonal changes. Our purpose is to investigate the effects of toluene on the model organism D. melanogaster, given humans and D. melanogaster show various similarities in body systems structure and function. We hypothesize that exposure to toluene will negatively affect reproductive and nervous systems in these fruit flies. To observe these effects, a continuous flow system that delivers known concentrations of toluene to populations of D. melanogaster was developed. We have interpolated the lethal exposure of toluene that kills 50% of the population (LE₅₀) to be between 1000 and 1200 ppm. The resulting offspring were counted at egg, larval, and pupal stages. Our results show that as toluene concentration increases, there is a decrease in fly fecundity and offspring survivability, indicating that the effects of toluene are dose dependent and have detrimental effects on fly development. Here we have focused on the effects of toluene exposure on males and will present results concerning the progeny of these exposures. Further into our research we will be following the offspring of the flies into adulthood, observing any distinct developmental and reproductive changes without an additional exposure in the offspring of the F2 generation. Ultimately, we will concentrate on determining the correlation between toluene exposure and fly offspring morphology and/or larval development.