Flies have a short generation time (10-12 days) and do well at room temperature.Ħ. Virgins fruit flies are physically distinctive from mature adults, making it easy to obtain virgin males and females for genetic crosses.ĥ. They are sexually dimorphic (males and females are different), making it is quite easy to differentiate the sexes.Ĥ. They can be easily anesthetized and manipulated individually with unsophisticated equipment.ģ. Teachers should use fruit flies for high school genetic studies for several reasons:Ģ. There are a variety of laboratory exercises one could purchase, although the necessity to do so is questionable. Costs are relatively low and most equipment can be used year after year. In addition these companies sell any equipment needed to culture the flies. Due to it’s small size, ease of culture and short generation time, geneticists have been using Drosophila ever since.įruit flies are easily obtained from the wild and many biological science companies carry a variety of different mutations. He was the first to discover sex-linkage and genetic recombination, which placed the small fly in the forefront of genetic research. Thomas Hunt Morgan was the preeminent biologist studying Drosophila early in the 1900’s. It has been in use for over a century to study genetics and behavior. This guide is adapted from the University of Arizona Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics General Biology Program for Science Teachers: Drosophila Melanogaster and Mendelian Genetics, by Pete Geiger.Īn Introduction to Drosophila melanogasterĭrosophila melanogaster is a small, common fly found near unripe and rotted fruit.
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