Studies of the Radiation Syndrome in Drosophila melanogaster

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Abstract
Irradiation with approximately 60,000 r kills fasted adult Drosophila melanogaster within 1 day and is lethal to 60% of the non-fasted flies within 2 weeks. Males die sooner than females. However, males show little or no modification of P turnover and maintain their weights at control values. In contrast, the rate of growth of irradiated females is slowed down, but the flies eventually reach weights in excess of controls. Irradiated females have fast and slow phases of P turnover with lengthened half-times. The phase systems of fast and slow half-time are affected to different degrees by irradiation. However, irradiation does not affect the amount of P lost by each phase or the total P content of either sex of flies. The biological half-time for P is 0.9 day for normal females, 2.0 day for irradiated females, and 1.8 day for normal or irradiated males. Irradiation does not have an immediate effect on the efficiency of P extraction from yeast by the gut. It does have an immediate depressing effect on food intake and a depressing effect 6 days after treatment on the oxygen consumption of the flies.

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