A Study on Food Preference in Drosophila
نویسنده
چکیده
The mechanisms involved in the food perception and selection remain poorly explored in many invertebrates including Drosophila melanogaster. Although our knowledge on these processes has rapidly increased, less is known about the mechanism of deciding or changing in the food preferences of Drosophila. This study explores how the type of media in Drosophila food affect male and female Drosophila choice of yeast rich food, yeast and sucrose rich food, and yeast and peptone rich food. Twenty groups of Canton S fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) were placed into petri dishes containing the three food sources: yeast extract (a protein source), yeast extract and peptone, and yeast extract and sucrose. Adult flies were starved and then given the choice of the three foods. It was hypothesized that female fruit flies would prefer the yeast extract because of the higher metabolic need associated with food production, while male flies would prefer the yeast extract and sucrose. The flies were placed in the petri dish under surveillance via camera, and the video was analyzed in terms of the number of Drosophila consuming a given food. Introduction It is well known that various factors change food preferences of insects. Because vertebrate and invertebrate organisms show striking similarities in the organization and functioning of their chemosensory systems, the fruit fly is a very useful model to dissect the genetic bases of feeding behaviors. Drosophila use both olfactory and gustatory receptors to find food, mates, and appropriate environments for their offspring. In mammals, most chemosensory receptors are classic seven transmembrane G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), including those involved in smell and in detecting three taste qualities: sweet, bitter, and umami. The mechanisms involved in the perception of and preferences for diet remain poorly explored, especially in insects. Although our knowledge on the process of the gustatory system as well as its components has rapidly increased recently, less is known with respect to the mechanism of deciding or changing in the food preferences of Drosophila larvae.
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