Fruit Fly Genetics Lab
Fruit Fly Genetics Lab
Kelly Hernandez
5/31/14
Drosophila melanogaster is a small, common fly found near unripe and rotted fruit. It has been in use for over a century to study genetics. Thomas Hunt Morgan was the best biologist studying Drosophila early in the 1900’s. Morgan was the first to discover sex-linkage and genetic recombination, which placed the small fly in the forefront of genetic research. Scientists have used Drosophila for many reasons. For one they are very easy to maintain, breed, anesthetize, and kill with little equipment. They are also very small and it is easy to distinguish males vs females and sexually mature flies and virgins. At lastly, the flies have a very short two week life span. On days 2-7 of their life after they hatch they are in the larva stage. Then on days 7-11 the flies go through the pupa stage where the go into a cocoon. Then on days 11-14 they emerge fully developed as an adult (but females won’t be sexually mature until 8-10 hours after they emerge.
Form the time of egg to adult, temperate is crucial to keep the flies alive. The ideal temperate range is 21-23 degrees Celsius (or 69-75 degrees Fahrenheit). The higher temperature range the faster generation time it is, it is the reverse effect for colder temperatures. After the eggs hatch, small, white, worm-like larvae should be visible in the growth medium (blue solid in the bottom of the tube). Look for the black area at the head of the larvae. In addition, as the larvae feed they disrupt the smooth surface of the growth medium. After approximately 7 days, the larvae will begin to migrate up the vial in order to pupate (make a cocoon).
The flies will be grown in small tubes plugged with cotton to allow air into the tube but not to allow the flies to escape. A blue solid known as “growth medium” is placed at the bottom of the tube. This is the food for the organisms. This is the “home” for the flies is called a culture vial. Because the adult flies “fly” the flies
Kelly Hernandez
5/31/14
Drosophila melanogaster is a small, common fly found near unripe and rotted fruit. It has been in use for over a century to study genetics. Thomas Hunt Morgan was the best biologist studying Drosophila early in the 1900’s. Morgan was the first to discover sex-linkage and genetic recombination, which placed the small fly in the forefront of genetic research. Scientists have used Drosophila for many reasons. For one they are very easy to maintain, breed, anesthetize, and kill with little equipment. They are also very small and it is easy to distinguish males vs females and sexually mature flies and virgins. At lastly, the flies have a very short two week life span. On days 2-7 of their life after they hatch they are in the larva stage. Then on days 7-11 the flies go through the pupa stage where the go into a cocoon. Then on days 11-14 they emerge fully developed as an adult (but females won’t be sexually mature until 8-10 hours after they emerge.
Form the time of egg to adult, temperate is crucial to keep the flies alive. The ideal temperate range is 21-23 degrees Celsius (or 69-75 degrees Fahrenheit). The higher temperature range the faster generation time it is, it is the reverse effect for colder temperatures. After the eggs hatch, small, white, worm-like larvae should be visible in the growth medium (blue solid in the bottom of the tube). Look for the black area at the head of the larvae. In addition, as the larvae feed they disrupt the smooth surface of the growth medium. After approximately 7 days, the larvae will begin to migrate up the vial in order to pupate (make a cocoon).
The flies will be grown in small tubes plugged with cotton to allow air into the tube but not to allow the flies to escape. A blue solid known as “growth medium” is placed at the bottom of the tube. This is the food for the organisms. This is the “home” for the flies is called a culture vial. Because the adult flies “fly” the flies