Effects of non-nutritional sugars on lipid and carbohydrate content, physiological uptake, and excretion in Drosophila suzukii

Authors: Price, Briana; YOON, JUNE-SUN - Oregon State University; Choi, Man-Yeon; Lee, Jana

Submitted to: Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/24/2021
Publication Date: 12/5/2021
Citation: Price, B.E., Yoon, J., Choi, M.Y., Lee, J.C. 2021. Effects of non-nutritional sugars on lipid and carbohydrate content, physiological uptake, and excretion in Drosophila suzukii. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology. 109(2). Article e21860. https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.21860.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.21860

Interpretive Summary: The insect pest, spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, can potentially cause $718 million in crop losses in small fruits and cherries each year. Current chemical control measures have negative impacts on the environment, and alternative controls are often costly or labor-intensive. We discovered that a mixture of two non-sugar sweeteners decreases fly survival and female reproduction, and cannot be metabolized or converted into any nutritional substitutes or storage carbohydrate in fly. Ingestion of sucralose leads to starvation and hyperosmotic pressure in the fly's body, which decreases fly survival. This formulation is non-toxic to humans, the ingredients are readily available, and is easier for growers to adopt than other labor-intensive measures.

Technical Abstract: Non-nutritive sugars (erythritol and sucralose) have the potential to be a human-safe management tool for spotted-wing drosophila (SWD). In this study, we investigated the nutritional and physiological impacts of the sucralose on SWD: 1) we tested if sucralose is metabolized by SWD by measuring sugar content in the hemolymph and frass of flies; 2) we directly examined fly weight gain, consumption volume and amount of frass droplets excreted when fed those various formulations; and 3) we determined whether sucralose can be converted to a metabolic or long chain carbohydrate such as glycogen in fly. We found sucralose molecules were largely accumulated in the hemolymph and slowly excreted from the body, creating significant osmotic imbalance in fly. With confirmation of sucralose being non-metabolizable and phagostimulative to SWD, the erythritol+sucralose formulation is a promising insecticide for growers to use.