Figure 5. The increased susceptibility of Dicer-2 mutant flies to ZIKV infection is linked tolipodystrophy and Impl2-induced wasting.

(A) Representative images of fat body lipid droplets in ZIKV-infected wild-type (w¹¹¹⁸) flies, Dicer-2 mutants and uninfected background controls at 8 days post injection (8 dpi). The neutral lipids were marked with Nile Red. (B) Quantification of lipid droplet size in ZIKV infected wild-type and Dicer-2 mutant flies as well as in uninfected controls. (C-D) Expression analysis of lipid-metabolism related genes in ZIKV-infected w¹¹¹⁸ flies and Dicer-2 mutants, and in uninfected w¹¹¹⁸ individuals. (C) Lsd-1 and Lsd-2 were used as read-outs for lipolysis, while (D) Lipin and mdy were used as read-outs for lipogenesis. (E) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of the Foxo target gene 4E-BP and insulin antagonist Impl2 in ZIKV-infected wild-type (w¹¹¹⁸) flies, Dicer-2 mutants and uninfected background controls. (F, G) Climbing ability and speed of climbing in uninfected wild-type controls and ZIKV-infected wild-type and Dicer-2 mutant flies. Levels of mRNA were normalized against RpL32 and three independent experiments were performed. In all graphs, bars represent mean ± SD. Statistical analysis was performed using Student’s t-test (*p<0.05, **p < 0.05, **** p<0.0001); ns denotes no significant differences between experimental treatments. Scale bars: 100 microns.