Accepted_test

Expression (genetic) noise is a random variation that occurs during the realisation of a genetic programme, which plays an important role in many biological processes and can affect the phenotype. In this work, we investigated the effect of expression noise on phenotypic traits in Drosophila melanogaster. We analysed the effects of different concentrations of MSM on the expression of some oogenesis genes, fecundity and lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster.
We showed that MSM, like its precursor DMSO, lowers the melting temperature of DNA. Therefore, we expected that the addition of MSM to the diet would increase expression noise and possibly lead to an increase in developmental noise. However, our study did not show a dose-dependent effect of MSM on gene expression at either the mRNA or protein level. Furthermore, although we observed multidirectional fluctuations in gene expression, no significant differences were found at the phenotype level (female fecundity, embryo survival to the adult stage and longevity of adult flies).