A simple high-throughput method for automated detection of Drosophila melanogaster light-dependent behaviours

Like most living organisms, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster exhibits strong and diverse behavioural reactions to light. Drosophila is a diurnal animal that displays both short- and long-term responses to light, important for, instance, in avoidance and light wavelength preference, regulation o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC biology Vol. 20; no. 1; p. 283
Main Authors:	Moulin, Thiago C, Dey, Sovik, Dashi, Giovanna, Li, Lei, Sridhar, Vaasudevan, Safa, Tania, Berkins, Samuel, Williams, Michael J, Schiöth, Helgi B
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 17-12-2022 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Activity monitor Algorithms Animals Automation Aversion Behavior Biologi Biological Sciences Circadian rhythm Circadian Rhythm - physiology Circadian rhythms Circuits Courtship Darkness Drosophila Drosophila - physiology Drosophila melanogaster Drosophila melanogaster - physiology Drosophila Proteins Eclosion Electric lighting Ethanol intake FMR1 protein Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein Fragile X syndrome Fruit flies Influence Insects Intellectual disabilities Interactive control Interactive systems Jump response Light Light response Lighting Methodology Motor Activity - physiology Natural Sciences Naturvetenskap OFF assay ON/OFF assay Operant conditioning Physiological aspects Spatial learning Stimuli Vision, Ocular Visual learning Zoologi Zoology Sweden ON/OFF assay Visual learning Ethanol intake Operant conditioning Jump response Light response Circadian rhythm Spatial learning Activity monitor
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Summary:	Like most living organisms, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster exhibits strong and diverse behavioural reactions to light. Drosophila is a diurnal animal that displays both short- and long-term responses to light, important for, instance, in avoidance and light wavelength preference, regulation of eclosion, courtship, and activity, and provides an important model organism for understanding the regulation of circadian rhythms both at molecular and circuit levels. However, the assessment and comparison of light-based behaviours is still a challenge, mainly due to the lack of a standardised platform to measure behaviour and different protocols created across studies. Here, we describe the Drosophila Interactive System for Controlled Optical manipulations (DISCO), a low-cost, automated, high-throughput device that records the flies' activity using infrared beams while performing LED light manipulations. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this tool and validate its potential as a standard platform, we developed a number of distinct assays, including measuring the locomotor response of flies exposed to sudden darkness (lights-off) stimuli. Both white-eyed and red-eyed wild-type flies exhibit increased activity after the application of stimuli, while no changes can be observed in Fmr1 null allele flies, a model of fragile X syndrome. Next, to demonstrate the use of DISCO in long-term protocols, we monitored the circadian rhythm of the flies for 48 h while performing an alcohol preference test. We show that increased alcohol consumption happens intermittently throughout the day, especially in the dark phases. Finally, we developed a feedback-loop algorithm to implement a place preference test based on the flies' innate aversion to blue light and preference for green light. We show that both white-eyed and red-eyed wild-type flies were able to learn to avoid the blue-illuminated zones. Our results demonstrate the versatility of DISCO for a range of protocols, indicating that this platform can be used in a variety of ways to study light-dependent behaviours in flies.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1741-7007 1741-7007
DOI:	10.1186/s12915-022-01476-z