The Detection and Localization of Frost Protein in Drosophila

TL;DR

This study investigates the presence of Frost protein in Drosophila under cold stress using Western blotting, but fails to detect its expression, raising questions about its role in cold tolerance.

Contribution

First attempt to detect Frost protein in Drosophila using specific antibodies, providing insights into its expression during cold stress.

Findings

No Frost protein detected in treated samples

Frost may not be expressed or detectable under tested conditions

Results suggest reevaluation of Frost's role in cold response

Abstract

In response to cold stress, Drosophila Melanogaster increase their expression of Frost, a candidate gene involved in cold response. The direct role of Frost in cold tolerance is yet to be determined, and its importance for survival in cold environments has been questioned. In this study, I attempt to better understand the molecular machinery of Frost by selecting for its protein in fly lysate knowing only its RNA has been found. Detection of Frost expression and subsequently studying its protein will hopefully lead to enhanced comprehension of cold responses in insects, which is the long-term goal of this research. I predict that Frost will be expressed in flies that undergo cold stress at 0oC for 2 hours before recovering at 220C for 3 hours before lysing. Two Western blots were executed using fly lysate that underwent the above treatment, whose antibodies were specific to Frost. No bands were seen in any of the lanes containing treated samples in either of the Immunoblots, indicating that Frost was either not expressed or not detected in fly lysate.