Salt stress alters fluid and ion transport by Malpighian tubules of Drosophila melanogaster: evidence for phenotypic plasticity

Drosophila are tolerant of high levels of dietary salt and can provide a useful model for studies of the physiology of salt stress. The effects of NaCl- and KCl-rich diets on haemolymph ionoregulation and Malpighian tubule (MT) fluid secretion, Na(+) and K(+) secretion and transepithelial potential were examined in larval and adult Drosophila melanogaster. K(+) concentrations in the haemolymph of adults reared on the KCl-rich (0.4 mol l(-1)) …