Elevated levels of FAO contribute to the upregulation of upd3 expression in the PCs of HSD-fed flies. (A) Levels of upd3 expression upon attenuating Whd activity in the PCs of ND or HSD-fed flies. The transcript levels are normalized to that of the constitutive ribosomal gene rp49. (B) Levels of upd3 expression in the PCs of whd, mtp-α, and mtp-β homozygous mutant flies reared on either ND or HSD. The transcript levels are normalized to that of the constitutive ribosomal gene rp49. (C) Changes in the level of prc expression in the fat cells of ND or HSD-fed flies upon attenuating Whd activity in the PCs. The transcript levels are normalized to that of the constitutive ribosomal gene rp49. (D–G) Increased levels of Prc accumulation (red) around the heart of HSD-fed flies (E) as compared to that observed upon rearing on ND (D) get reduced upon attenuating Whd activity in the PCs (F and G). (H) Quantification of the mean fluorescence intensity for Prc accumulation around the second heart chamber of HSD-fed flies upon attenuating Whd function in the PCs. The dots represent the samples analyzed for each genotype. (I) Representative M-modes for heartbeats of adult flies showing the movement of the heart tube walls (y-axis) over time (x-axis). (J) Changes in arrhythmia index in the hearts of HSD-fed flies upon attenuating whd in the PCs. The dots represent the samples analyzed for each genotype. Genotypes are as mentioned. Data are represented as mean ± SD. P values (ns ≥ 0.05, ***P < 1 × 10−3) were obtained by two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple-comparison test (A, B, and C) or by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple-comparison test (H and J). Scale bars, 50 μm.
