Ambient temperature affects free-flight performance in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

1999 ◽  
Vol 169 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.-O. Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Free Flight

scholarly journals The influence of visual landscape on the free flight behavior of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lance F. Tammero ◽  
Michael H. Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Flight Control ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Flight Behavior ◽  
Large Field ◽  
Visual Environment ◽  
Free Flight ◽  
Visual Contrast

SUMMARY To study the visual cues that control steering behavior in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, we reconstructed three-dimensional trajectories from images taken by stereo infrared video cameras during free flight within structured visual landscapes. Flies move through their environment using a series of straight flight segments separated by rapid turns, termed saccades, during which the fly alters course by approximately 90° in less than 100 ms. Altering the amount of background visual contrast caused significant changes in the fly’s translational velocity and saccade frequency. Between saccades, asymmetries in the estimates of optic flow induce gradual turns away from the side experiencing a greater motion stimulus, a behavior opposite to that predicted by a flight control model based upon optomotor equilibrium. To determine which features of visual motion trigger saccades, we reconstructed the visual environment from the fly’s perspective for each position in the flight trajectory. From these reconstructions, we modeled the fly’s estimation of optic flow on the basis of a two-dimensional array of Hassenstein–Reichardt elementary motion detectors and, through spatial summation, the large-field motion stimuli experienced by the fly during the course of its flight. Event-triggered averages of the large-field motion preceding each saccade suggest that image expansion is the signal that triggers each saccade. The asymmetry in output of the local motion detector array prior to each saccade influences the direction (left versus right) but not the magnitude of the rapid turn. Once initiated, visual feedback does not appear to influence saccade kinematics further. The total expansion experienced before a saccade was similar for flight within both uniform and visually textured backgrounds. In summary, our data suggest that complex behavioral patterns seen during free flight emerge from interactions between the flight control system and the visual environment.

scholarly journals Hox dosage contributes to flight appendage morphology in Drosophila

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Paul ◽  
Guillaume Giraud ◽  
Katrin Domsch ◽  
Marilyne Duffraisse ◽  
Frédéric Marmigère ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Differential Expression ◽  
Hox Genes ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Insect Species ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Hox Proteins ◽  
Spatial Expression ◽  
Flying Insects

AbstractFlying insects have invaded all the aerial space on Earth and this astonishing radiation could not have been possible without a remarkable morphological diversification of their flight appendages. Here, we show that characteristic spatial expression profiles and levels of the Hox genes Antennapedia (Antp) and Ultrabithorax (Ubx) underlie the formation of two different flight organs in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. We further demonstrate that flight appendage morphology is dependent on specific Hox doses. Interestingly, we find that wing morphology from evolutionary distant four-winged insect species is also associated with a differential expression of Antp and Ubx. We propose that variation in the spatial expression profile and dosage of Hox proteins is a major determinant of flight appendage diversification in Drosophila and possibly in other insect species during evolution.

scholarly journals Quantitative investigation reveals distinct phases in Drosophila sleep

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaochan Xu ◽  
Wei Yang ◽  
Binghui Tian ◽  
Xiuwen Sui ◽  
Weilai Chi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Infrared Camera ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Genetic Dissection ◽  
Power Law Distribution ◽  
Quantitative Investigation ◽  
Waking Up ◽  
Set Up

AbstractThe fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been used as a model organism for the molecular and genetic dissection of sleeping behaviors. However, most previous studies were based on qualitative or semi-quantitative characterizations. Here we quantified sleep in flies. We set up an assay to continuously track the activity of flies using infrared camera, which monitored the movement of tens of flies simultaneously with high spatial and temporal resolution. We obtained accurate statistics regarding the rest and sleep patterns of single flies. Analysis of our data has revealed a general pattern of rest and sleep: the rest statistics obeyed a power law distribution and the sleep statistics obeyed an exponential distribution. Thus, a resting fly would start to move again with a probability that decreased with the time it has rested, whereas a sleeping fly would wake up with a probability independent of how long it had slept. Resting transits to sleeping at time scales of minutes. Our method allows quantitative investigations of resting and sleeping behaviors and our results provide insights for mechanisms of falling into and waking up from sleep.

scholarly journals The trithorax Group Genemoira Encodes a Brahma-Associated Putative Chromatin-Remodeling Factor in Drosophila melanogaster

1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 1159-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline A. Crosby ◽  
Chaya Miller ◽  
, Tamar Alon ◽  
Kellie L. Watson ◽  
C. Peter Verrijzer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Chromatin Remodeling ◽  
Leucine Zipper ◽  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Protein Product ◽  
Homeotic Genes ◽  
Trithorax Group ◽  
Functional Relationships

ABSTRACT The genes of the trithorax group (trxG) inDrosophila melanogaster are required to maintain the pattern of homeotic gene expression that is established early in embryogenesis by the transient expression of the segmentation genes. The precise role of each of the diverse trxG members and the functional relationships among them are not well understood. Here, we report on the isolation of the trxG gene moira(mor) and its molecular characterization. morencodes a fruit fly homolog of the human and yeast chromatin-remodeling factors BAF170, BAF155, and SWI3. mor is widely expressed throughout development, and its 170-kDa protein product is present in many embryonic tissues. In vitro, MOR can bind to itself and it interacts with Brahma (BRM), an SWI2-SNF2 homolog, with which it is associated in embryonic nuclear extracts. The leucine zipper motif of MOR is likely to participate in self-oligomerization; the equally conserved SANT domain, for which no function is known, may be required for optimal binding to BRM. MOR thus joins BRM and Snf5-related 1 (SNR1), two known Drosophila SWI-SNF subunits that act as positive regulators of the homeotic genes. These observations provide a molecular explanation for the phenotypic and genetic relationships among several of the trxG genes by suggesting that they encode evolutionarily conserved components of a chromatin-remodeling complex.

Locomotion is not influenced by denticle number in larvae of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 368-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J Fitzpatrick ◽  
Evelyn Szewczyk
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Natural Variation ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Fruit Flies ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Locomotory Performance ◽  
Locomotion Speed

Denticles are small projections on the underside of larval fruit flies that are used to grip the substrate while crawling. Previous studies have shown that (i) there is natural variation in denticle number and pattern between Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen, 1830) and several closely related species and (ii) mutations affecting denticle morphology have negative effects on locomotory performance. We hypothesized that there would be a correlation between denticle number and locomotory performance within populations of D. melanogaster. Despite finding considerable variation in denticle number, we found no correlation between denticle number and three measurements of larval locomotion: speed, acceleration, and absolute turning rate.

scholarly journals Drosophila melanogaster Is a Genetically Tractable Model Host for Mycobacterium marinum

2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 3540-3550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc S. Dionne ◽  
Nafisa Ghori ◽  
David S. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Lethal Dose ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Mycobacterial Infection ◽  
Mycobacterium Marinum ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Lethal Infection ◽  
Mouse Macrophages ◽  
Vacuolar Acidification ◽  
Death Kinetics

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium marinum is a pathogenic mycobacterial species that is closely related to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and causes tuberculosis-like disease in fish and frogs. We infected the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster with M. marinum. This bacterium caused a lethal infection in the fly, with a 50% lethal dose (LD50) of 5 CFU. Death was accompanied by widespread tissue damage. M. marinum initially proliferated inside the phagocytes of the fly; later in infection, bacteria were found both inside and outside host cells. Intracellular M. marinum blocked vacuolar acidification and failed to colocalize with dead Escherichia coli, similar to infections of mouse macrophages. M. marinum lacking the mag24 gene were less virulent, as determined both by LD50 and by death kinetics. Finally, in contrast to all other bacteria examined, mycobacteria failed to elicit the production of antimicrobial peptides in Drosophila. We believe that this system should be a useful genetically tractable model for mycobacterial infection.

Epigenetic Effects of Diet on Fruit Fly Lifespan: An Investigation to Teach Epigenetics to Biology Students

2010 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 231-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Billingsley ◽  
Kimberly A. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Dietary Supplements ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Biological Concept ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Multiple Generations ◽  
Epigenetic Effects ◽  
Research And Design

Do our genes exclusively control us, or are other factors at play? Epigenetics can provide a means for students to use inquiry-based methods to understand a complex biological concept. Students research and design an experiment testing whether dietary supplements affect the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster over multiple generations.

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