Dietary Behavior of Drosophila melanogaster Fed with Genetically-Modified Corn or Roundup(R)

With the rise in concern about GMOs and pesticides on human health, we have utilized Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for understanding the effects of Roundup-Ready(R) GMO diets on health. We recorded dietary behavior during and after exposure to a medium containing GMO or non-GMO corn, Roundup(R) in organic corn medium, and sucrose with or without one of the two Roundup(R) formulations. No differences in behavior were observed when Drosophila were exposed to a medium containing Roundup-Ready(R) GMO or non-GMO corn. Drosophila can detect and refrain from eating sucrose containing one Roundup(R) formulation, Ready-to-Use, which contains pelargonic acid in addition to glyphosate as an active ingredient. Drosophila exhibited dose-dependent increased consumption of sucrose alone after exposure to a medium containing either Roundup(R) formulation. This may indicate that flies eating a medium with Roundup(R) eat less and were thus hungrier when then given sucrose solution; that a medium with Roundup(R) is more difficult to digest; or that a medium with Roundup(R) is less nutritious, as would be the case if nutritionally important microbes grew on control medium, but not one containing Roundup(R).