Effects of a Mixture of Volatile Organic Compounds on Total DNA and Gene Expression of Heat Shock Proteins in Drosophila melanogaster

The genotoxic effects of a mixture of 13 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on total DNA profiles and the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) HSP26, HSP60, HSP70, and HSP83 in fruit fly tissues were examined. Drosophila melanogaster Oregon R+, reared under controlled conditions on artificial diets, was treated with 13 VOCs commonly found in water at concentrations of 10, 20, 50, and 75 ppb for 1 and 5 days. Band changes were clearly detected in random amplified polymorphic DNA assay, especially at the 50- and 75-ppb exposure levels, for both treatment periods. In addition, there were clear differences in the band profiles of the treated and untreated flies with changes in the band intensity and the loss/appearance of bands. Although the genomic template stability (GTS) exhibited irregular changes at the first day, significant decreases in GTS were observed after 5 days of VOC application. The lowest GTS value (27.77 ± 1.96 %) was detected at the 75-ppb level after 5 days of the treatment. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed a significant increase in the relative expression of HSP26 and HSP60 after 1 and 5 days of the treatment, respectively. The expression of HSP70 increased significantly at all treatment concentrations and times. However, the greatest increase in expression level of HSP70 (4.2-fold) occurred at 20 ppb after 5 days of the treatment. HSP83 was the least affected by exposure to the VOCs. We conclude that trace levels of a mixture of VOCs can exert genotoxic effects on both total DNA and HSP levels in Drosophila.