The Effect of the Ensure® Nutrition Supplement on Pupation Site Preference in Drosophila melanogaster
Author : Shilpashree BM, Suma S, Yashaswini SP, Tanmayi Kishore, Ashwini M, Aishwarya KC and MS Krishna
Abstract :
Pupation site preference is a crucial phase in the pre-adult behavioral development of Drosophila because the location that the larva chose might have a significant impact on its chances of surviving as a pupa. PSP was studied by counting the number of larvae pupated on different sites such as towards the cotton, on the wall and on the surface of the media. The variation in pupation site preference across different media was an adaptive character to escape from desiccation, disease and predators. In the present study, larvae of D. melanogaster grown in test (Ensure®) media preferred to pupate in a greater percentage near/on the cotton plug, followed by on the wall of the media bottle and less percentage on the surface of the media. On the other hand, larvae grown in wheat-cream agar media and mixed (wheat-cream agar + Ensure®) media preferred to pupate in a greater percentage on the surface of the media, followed by on the wall of media bottle and less percentage near/on the cotton plug. This suggests that the variation in pupation site preference was mainly influenced by the quantity and quality of nutrients present in the different media.
Keywords :
Drosophila melanogaster, Pupation site preference, glue protein, Ensure®
