Getting started: An overview on raising and using Drosophila

Drosophila melanogaster has long been a prime model organism for developmental biologists. During their work, they have established a large collection of techniques and reagents. This in turn has made fruit flies an attractive system for many other biomedical researchers who have otherwise no background in fly biology. This review intends to help Drosophila neophytes in setting up a fly lab. It briefly introduces the biological properties of fruit flies, describes the minimal equipment required for working with flies, and offers some basic advice for maintaining fly lines and setting up and analyzing experiments. Stocker & Gallant 1 Fly Husbandry Getting started: An overview on raising and handling Drosophila Overview chapter: non-standard format Hugo Stocker & Peter Gallant 1 Institute for Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 16, CH8093 Zurich, Switzerland, phone: +41-44-6333679, fax: +41-44-6331051, email: [email protected]; 2 Zoological Institute, University Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland, phone: +41-44-6354812, fax: +41-44-6356820, email: [email protected] Abstract Drosophila melanogaster has long been a prime model organism for developmental biologists. During their work, they have established a large collection of techniques and reagents. This in turn has made fruit flies an attractive system for many other biomedical researchers who have otherwise no background in fly biology. This review intends to help Drosophila neophytes in setting up a fly lab. It briefly introduces the biological properties of fruit flies, describes the minimal equipment required for working with flies, and offers some basic advice for maintaining fly lines and setting up and analyzing experiments.