Effect of oxidative stress on telomere lenght in \kur{Drosophila melanogaster}

Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between high production of reactive oxygen species and ability of organism to detoxify them or counteract their effects. The chromosomal ends telomeres - are specialized nucleoprotein structures protecting chromosome ends from DNA damage. Telomeres of Drosophila melanogaster are arrays of specific non-long terminal repeated (LTR) retrotransposons HeT-A, TART and TAHRE. This thesis evaluates effects of exposure of paraquat, which is a strong oxidative stress inducer, on telomere length and transcription activity in Drosophila