Irradiation of Drosophila melanogaster Leads to Increased Autophagy in Multiple Adult Tissues

A common source of tissue toxicity is ionizing radiation to which humans can be exposed in a variety of ways including environmental contamination, radiotherapy, space and aviation travel. Radiotherapy is the most common method used to treat majority of cancers. However, the irradiation of patients can lead to many negative secondary effects causing irreparable internal organ damage due to its genotoxic effects and disruption of oxidative state of cells which, if left unresolved, can lead to cell death. Cells use autophagy as a homeostatic mechanism to remove debris and damaged organelle. However, it is not known whether autophagy is affected by radiation. Drosophila melanogaster has become one of the most trusted model organisms to study human disease and various biological pathways. Here we used Gamma radiation exposure to determine, for the first time, whether radiation influences autophagy in two different tissues in Drosophila: the midgut and the brain.