Dyeing insects for behavioral assays: the mating behavior of anesthetized Drosophila

Verspoor, R. L., Heys, C. and Price, T. A.R. (2015) Dyeing insects for behavioral assays: the mating behavior of anesthetized Drosophila. Journal of Visualized Experiments(98), e52645. (doi: 10.3791/52645) (PMID:25938821) (PMCID:PMC4541581)

Abstract

Mating experiments using Drosophila have contributed greatly to the understanding of sexual selection and behavior. Experiments often require simple, easy and cheap methods to distinguish between individuals in a trial. A standard technique for this is CO2 anaesthesia and then labelling or wing clipping each fly. However, this is invasive and has been shown to affect behavior. Other techniques have used coloration to identify flies. This article presents a simple and non-invasive method for labelling Drosophila that allows them to be individually identified within experiments, using food coloring. This method is used in trials where two males compete to mate with a female. Dyeing allowed quick and easy identification. There was, however, some difference in the strength of the coloration across the three species tested. Data is presented showing the dye has a lower impact on mating behavior than CO2 in Drosophila melanogaster. The impact of CO2 anaesthesia is shown to depend on the species of Drosophila, with D. pseudoobscura and D. subobscura showing no impact, whereas D. melanogaster males had reduced mating success. The dye method presented is applicable to a wide range of experimental designs.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Heys, Dr Chloe
• Authors: Verspoor, R. L., Heys, C., and Price, T. A.R.
• Subjects: Q Science > QL Zoology
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Journal of Visualized Experiments
• Publisher: JoVE
• ISSN: 1940-087X
• ISSN (Online): 1940-087X
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Visualized Experiments 98: e52645
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License