Phenotypic plasticity in response to dietary salt stress: Na+ and K+ transport by the gut of Drosophila melanogaster larvae

Drosophila provides a useful model system for studies of the mechanisms involved in regulation of internal ion levels in response to variations in dietary salt load. This study assessed whether alterations in Na(+) and K(+) transport by the gut of larval D. melanogaster reared on salt-rich diets contribute to haemolymph ionoregulation. Na(+) and K(+) fluxes across the isolated guts of third instar larvae reared on control or salt-rich diets …