Attraction to natural stimuli in Drosophila melanogaster

TL;DR

This study investigates the dynamic odor attraction response in Drosophila melanogaster over several hours using natural stimuli and introduces a mathematical model to evaluate trapping potential based on fly catch data.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach measuring odor response dynamics over time and proposes a mathematical model to analyze the data in Drosophila melanogaster.

Findings

Odor response varies over hours for different stimuli.

A mathematical model effectively summarizes trapping potential.

Natural odors like ripe fruit and vinegar attract flies over time.

Abstract

The animals, in particular insects (Drosophila melanogaster), response towards odor stimuli in nature can be established by measuring the dynamic of the odor response. Such an approach is innovative since responses to odors were tested only at certain time point so far, not in hour intervals for several hours. The odor attraction to 14 natural and ecologically relevant odor stimuli such as fruits- ripe and rotten, yeast and vinegar was tested. A mathematical model to evaluate obtained data is proposed in this study in which the number of flies caught over several time points is presented as one simple parameter showing trapping potential of the trap housing particular odor stimuli. The knowledge concerning dynamic of the odor response in Drosophila melanogaster may enlighten the principles of flies behavior in context of exposure towards odor stimulus.