The Effects of Pre-Workout on Expression of the fruitless Gene, Reproductive Rates, Motor Coordination, and Courtship Behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster
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Authors
Lohr, Kelsyn
Wohlers, Joseph
Chennai, Blake
Date of Issue
2023-04-28
Type
Presentation
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Abstract
Pre-workout is a nutritional supplement that is promoted to enhance athletic performance via increased energy levels, improvement of exercise performance, and stimulating muscle growth. As a supplement, Pre-workout products are not required to get approval by the Food and Drug Administration and research on the effects of Pre-workout is extremely limited. Based on the contents of many Pre-workout products, we believe that the supplement will have similar effects on Drosophila melanogaster as caffeine, which has previously been shown to alter their behavior. Pre-workout supplements are widely consumed and can reach up to 300 mg of caffeine in just one serving. We hypothesized that the addition of Pre-workout into the diet of male D. melanogaster would increase courtship behaviors, reproductive rates, motor function, and expression of the fruitless (fru) gene, which plays a role in courtship-related motor neuron function. To determine the effects of Pre-workout on D. melanogaster, we performed behavioral assays on reproductive rate, motor coordination, and courtship behavior and used RT-qPCR to quantify expression of the fru gene. The results from this study showed there was a significant difference in motor coordination between the control and Pre-workout treated flies; however, no significant difference was observed in courtship behavior, reproductive rate, or expression of the fru gene.