Sulfite sensitivity and sulfite oxidase activity in Drosophila melanogaster.

The relationship between sulfite oxidase (SO) and sulfite sensitivity in Drosophila melanogaster is addressed. Significant improvements to the SO assay have provided an investigative tool which can be applied to further studies of this molybdoenzyme. Using the second-instar larval stage of D, melanogaster, we have shown a direct relationship between measured levels of sulfite oxidase activity and the organism's ability to withstand a sulfite challenge. Implementation of a sulfite-testing procedure confirmed the documented instability of sulfite in solution and may explain some of the conflicting results reported in the SO literature. Results of the tungstate-addition experiments confirm that Drosophila SO is a molybdoenzyme and its activity was shown to be governed by three of the four loci known to affect more than one molybdoenzyme. The ability of D. melanogaster to withstand the application of exogenous sulfites is shown to be dependent on sulfite oxidase activity.