Analysis Of Drosophila Fly

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The purpose of this experiment is to conduct genetics studies using drosophila fly as the test organism. Scientists can study the basic biology that is shared by all organisms using a model organism, such as drosophila fly1. Drosophila fly, or more commonly known as fruit fly, has several qualities that makes it well suited for experimental genetics cross. First, fruit flies are low maintenance organisms. They are small in size (few millimeters long), so they occupy a small space and a lot of them can fit in one vial at the same time. They only require a media to feed on. In this lab, instant media was used, which is efficient as it only requires the addition of water to be used. This media contains ingredients that the fruit fly can feed one, …show more content…

Three pairs are autosomal, while the last pair of chromosomes are the sex chromosomes. Similar to humans, a XX pair of sex chromosomes will be a female, while an XY sex chromosomes will be a male. However, the determination of sex in fruit flies is somewhat different than in humans. The sex is determined by the X-chromosome’s ratio (X) to the autosomal chromosomes (A). For instance, when the X to A ratio is one or more, the offspring is a female, but when that ratio is less than one, the offspring is a male. Moreover, drosophila fly goes through three life stages until it becomes an adult fly. Approximately one day after the adult female lays the eggs, these eggs hatch into a larvae (Figure 1). During the larval stage, the larva stays in the nutrient media in order to eat and grow. The next stage is the pupal stage where the pupa forms a case around itself that helps metamorphism to occur. The pupa becomes darker in color and stiffer. Finally, when metamorphism is complete, the adult fly comes out being fully developed and having wings, legs, and eyes. An adult fruit fly may live approximately 30 …show more content…

One key distinction is the sex combs on the male’s foreleg, which is characteristic that is lacking in the females. Another way to distinguish the sex of the flies is to carefully examine the tip of the abdomen in each. The females tend to have a lighter colored abdomen that is more pointy and long. On the other hand, males tend to have darker pigmented abdomen that is round and short. In general, females tend to have a larger body than males. Sex determination can easily be accomplished even under a low power magnification, which adds to the ease of using fruit flies to study genetic

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