Fruit Fly Experiment

Drosophila melanogaster has been studied in genetic research laboratories for almost a century. Because the fruit fly has a short lifespan, a simple genome, and is easily made to reproduce in captivity it is a prime candidate for genetic research. (Patterson, et al., 1943) The major behavioral response noted in the fruit flies is that they tended to group together in clusters, as opposed to venturing off on their own into different sectors. D. melanogaster are attracted to food and will mate with anyone of the opposing sex. They have hairs on their backs that are sensitive to air currents (Demerec 1950).
In the control treatment, the group of flies were mostly placid, sans one lonesome fly. To test if D. melanogaster responded to heat, a heating pad on maximum level was placed under quadrant A. Vial One contained …show more content…
During the mid-way point, 13% of the flies ventured off into both Quadrants B and C, yet by the end of the observations, the flies returned back towards the heat (Bautista 2017). Although the majority stayed towards the top of Section A in avoidance of the heat, they also did not explore in other quadrants of the apparatus. This may be due to the compressed space in which they were kept in prior to the experiment. To test a chemotaxis element of the D. melanogaster, two drops of caraway oil was dropped on a pad inside of the apparatus, in Section A. The population of Vial Three consisted of 24 fruit flies, all of which started off in Section D of the tube. Towards the six-minute timeframe, six flies moved to the top of the apparatus opening, and by the concluding ten