Effect of Thiovit® Jet on the structure of thoracic microtrichia/trichomes in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Widely used fungicides and pesticides are known to have profound effect on several nontarget organisms, which is a cause of concern. The present study aims to demonstrate the effect of a fungicide, Thiovit® Jet on the structure of epidermal microtrichia (trichome) of the dorsal thorax in Drosophila melanogaster. External morphology and structural variations of thoracic appendages have been extensively studied using scanning electron microscope from flies treated with different concentrations of Thiovit Jet (20, 30, 40 or 200 μg/ml). Similar to the effect of other fungicides like captan and captafol which are reported to produce somatic mutations in the same organism, the present study successfully demonstrates variation in the trichome/microtrichia structure of the dorsal thorax of D. melanogaster. Structural variations were observed to be associated with different concentrations of Thiovit Jet (30, 40 and 200 μg/ml), but the maximum notable change was found with 40 μg/ml treatment. The gross abnormality in the trichome structure may be due to mutation in proteins associated with normal cuticular deposition.