Locomotion Induced by Spatial Restriction in Adult Drosophila

Drosophila adults display an unwillingness to enter confined spaces but the behaviors induced by spatial restriction in Drosophila are largely unknown. We developed a protocol for high-throughput analysis of locomotion and characterized features of locomotion in a restricted space. We observed inten...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-09, Vol.10 (9), p.e0135825-e0135825
Main Authors: Xiao, Chengfeng, Robertson, R Meldrum
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Analysis
Animal locomotion
Animals
Arenas
ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters - genetics
ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters - metabolism
Behavior
Chromosomes
Confined spaces
Crosses, Genetic
Dopamine
Drosophila
Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster - genetics
Drosophila melanogaster - metabolism
Drosophila Proteins - genetics
Drosophila Proteins - metabolism
Eye Proteins - genetics
Eye Proteins - metabolism
Female
Flies
Gene Expression
Genetic analysis
Genotype
Insects
Laboratories
Locomotion
Locomotion - genetics
Male
Males
Phenotype
Physiological aspects
Preconditioning
Serotonin
Sex differences
Sex Factors
Sexual dimorphism
Spatial Behavior - physiology
Walking
White gene
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Summary:Drosophila adults display an unwillingness to enter confined spaces but the behaviors induced by spatial restriction in Drosophila are largely unknown. We developed a protocol for high-throughput analysis of locomotion and characterized features of locomotion in a restricted space. We observed intense and persistent locomotion of flies in small circular arenas (diameter 1.27 cm), whereas locomotion was greatly reduced in large circular arenas (diameter 3.81 cm). The increased locomotion induced by spatial restriction was seen in male flies but not female flies, indicating sexual dimorphism of the response to spatial restriction. In large arenas, male flies increased locomotion in arenas previously occupied by male but not female individuals. In small arenas, such pre-conditioning had no effect on male flies, which showed intense and persistent locomotion similar to that seen in fresh arenas. During locomotion with spatial restriction, wildtype Canton-S males traveled slower and with less variation in speed than the mutant w1118 carrying a null allele of white gene. In addition, wildtype flies showed a stronger preference for the boundary than the mutant in small arenas. Genetic analysis with a series of crosses revealed that the white gene was not associated with the phenotype of boundary preference in wildtype flies.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0135825