The vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has contributed tremendously to advancing our understanding of the fundamentals of biology, from the chromosomal theory of inheritance to the survival of multi-cellular organisms in spaceflight. The use of this insect as a model organism has provided insights into all branches of life sciences, including agricultural and environmental sciences. In the context of integrated pest management (IPM), which often relies on species-specific natural history and phenology of pest insects and biological control, D. melanogaster flies have continued to be a powerhouse. In this review, we seek to summarize the use of the D. melanogaster model in studying insect biology relevant to IPM, with a focus on investigating the mechanisms underlying insecticide resistance. We sample case studies that adopt forward genetic approaches to reveal molecular underpinnings of IPM-relevant phenotypes and reverse genetic approaches that elucidate genotype-phenotype relationships. In particular, we highlight the contribution of D. melanogaster in understanding the biology and in developing IPM for the spotted-wing drosophila, also known as D. suzukii, a pest Drosophila species that devastates fruit production worldwide. Finally, we summarize recently developed research tools and resources in D. melanogaster that have potential utility for agricultural pest management.
Reporters are widely used in Drosophila genetics to visualize gene expression and cell lineages. However, uncharacterized limitations in specific reporter lines can lead to data misinterpretation. Here, we identify a consistent, driver-independent tdTomato signal in the adult proventriculus from the widely used lexAop-tdTomato.nls reporter line. This signal was observed across multiple lexA driver combinations and was directly detectable in lexAop-tdTomato.nls responder-alone adult proventriculi lacking any lexA driver and without antibody staining. In contrast, no comparable native red fluorescence was detected in larval proventriculi under the same no-antibody imaging condition. Mouse and rabbit anti-RFP immunostaining further supported the presence of proventriculus-associated tdTomato/RFP antigen in adult responder-alone animals. In larval responder-alone proventriculi, antibody-amplified staining was antibody-source-dependent: a detectable signal was observed only with rabbit anti-RFP, whereas mouse and rat anti-RFP produced no reliable detectable signal under the same staining condition. A driver-matched comparison using lexAop-RFP.nls did not reproduce the proventricular signal, arguing against detectable ectopic activity of the tested lexA driver in this tissue. However, because lexAop-tdTomato.nls and lexAop-RFP.nls differ in reporter/transgene architecture and possibly genomic insertion context, the underlying cause cannot be assigned specifically to the lexAop sequence. Our findings highlight the necessity of including driver-negative and no-antibody controls when using this reporter line in adult Drosophila proventriculus and gut studies.
Pharmaceutical waste has been recognized as an emerging contaminant that is increasingly detected in the environment and may pose ecotoxicological risks. This review aims to describe the global development of research on pharmaceutical waste within the field of ecotoxicology and to examine the role of insects in trophic food-chain exposure pathways. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Scopus database, comprising 1,051 articles published between 2010 and 2025. The results show a consistent upward trend in publications, with pharmaceutical ecotoxicology research predominantly focused on aquatic environments, environmental risk assessment, contaminant monitoring, and toxicological evaluation. Keyword analysis further indicates that terrestrial exposure pathways remain comparatively less emphasized within the current bibliometric landscape. The narrative review indicates that pharmaceutical waste can accumulate in organisms and be transferred through the food chain, leading to various physiological and systemic toxic effects, even at low environmental concentrations. In this context, insects play a strategic role as mediators of trophic exposure. Hermetia illucens is relevant in waste management and biotransformation processes, while Drosophila melanogaster is a well-established model organism for investigating physiological and molecular responses to pharmaceutical compound exposure. Thus, this review discusses the potential of an insect-based ecotoxicology framework in which H. illucens may serve as a bioconversion model for waste processing and D. melanogaster as a mechanistic model for toxicological studies. We also highlight the need for a more integrative ecotoxicological approach to pharmaceutical waste that explicitly considers insect involvement and food chain - based exposure pathways.
Organophosphates (OPs) cause acute cholinergic toxicity, oxidative stress, DNA damage, and delayed axonopathy through neuropathy target esterase (NTE) inhibition. Efficient in vivo models capturing this toxicity spectrum are essential for risk assessment and therapeutic discovery. Here, we review Drosophila melanogaster as a versatile platform for OP toxicology across: (1) wild-type assays using dietary and vapour exposures with behavioural endpoints (survival, locomotion, negative geotaxis) and biochemical markers (acetylcholinesterase activity, oxidative stress indices); (2) genotoxicity assessment via the Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test (SMART) and comet assay; and (3) the swiss cheese (sws) mutant model - the Drosophila ortholog of human PNPLA6/NTE - enabling investigation of organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy (OPIDN) independent of cholinergic effects. Together, these approaches provide hazard characterization and support discovery of protective strategies targeting both cholinergic and non-cholinergic pathways.
