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©This page is Copyright Justin Hutchings, 2001. Do not duplicate without express permission from the author.
Genetic Study of the Yellow Body Mutation in a Small Community of Drosophila
Some of the equipment needed to recreate this experiment:
- 1 stereoscope disection microscope
- 4 ounces of blue culture media
- 4 ounces of water
- 1 Male Drosophila Melanogaster with the yellow gene
- 1 Female Drosophila Melanogaster wild type
- 1 sterile vial for the flies
- 1 cotton plug
- FlyNap
- 5 small pellets of yeast
- Petri dish
Methods used in performing this experiment:
the first thing one must do to make the experiment is sterilize the culture vial. In order to do so, submerge in bleach several times, then rinse for 5 minutes with running water. Allow to dry completely (air dry). Then insert the blue media (about 4 ounces). This can be bought from biology supply stores everywhere, exact amounts of the media may vary by company. Add 5 small yeast pellets (not quick rise) Add the specified amount of water, generally 4 ounces. then insert the flies. This is the location the flies will be kept. Insert the flies and plug with a piece of cotton. Be careful to allow sufficent room for the flies in the vial.
To anesthetize the flies transfer to a clean vial without any media, plug the new vial and tap gently on the table to get all of the flies to stop flying. Take a swab of FlyNap and insert it into the vial being careful not to touch anything in the vial as it can kill the flies. When the flies stop moving put them into a petri dish and then you can examine them under the stereoscope. To identify a male, look for the claspers on the end of the abdomen. When handling the flies, do not touch them with your hands as it is likely you will crush them. The best way to transport the flies from place to place is to gently "pour" them into the location they need to go to. Then take a pair of tweezers and postition the anesthetized flies so that they will not suffocate in their food.(1)
| Male | Female |
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Color flies from (6). Monochrome flies from (7).
Offsite illustrations
Go to the flybase body part map Go to the Drosophila life cycle
