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Drosophila is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit. They should not be confused with the Tephritidae, a related family, which are also called fruit flies ; tephritids feed primarily on unripe or ripe fruit, with many species being regarded as destructive agricultural pests, especially the Mediterranean fruit fly.
Drosophila melanogaster is a species of fly in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly, though its common name is more accurately the vinegar fly. Starting with Charles W. Woodworth's proposal of the use of this species as a model organism, D. melanogaster continues to be widely used for biological research in genetics, physiology, microbial pathogenesis, and life history evolution. As of 2017, six Nobel prizes had been awarded for research using Drosophila.
Drosophila simulans is a species of fly closely related to D. melanogaster, belonging to the same melanogaster species subgroup. Its closest relatives are D. mauritiana and D. sechellia.
FlyBase is an online bioinformatics database and the primary repository of genetic and molecular data for the insect family Drosophilidae. For the most extensively studied species and model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, a wide range of data are presented in different formats.
The concept of a biological species as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding to produce viable offspring dates back to at least the 18th century, although it is often associated today with Ernst Mayr. Species of the fruit-fly Drosophila are one of the most commonly used organisms in evolutionary research, and have been used to test many theories related to the evolution of species. The genus Drosophila comprises numerous species that have varying degrees of premating and postmating isolation between them. These species are useful for testing hypotheses of the reproductive mechanisms underlying speciation.
Most animal testing involves invertebrates, especially Drosophila melanogaster, a fruit fly, and Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode. These animals offer scientists many advantages over vertebrates, including their short life cycle, simple anatomy and the ease with which large numbers of individuals may be studied. Invertebrates are often cost-effective, as thousands of flies or nematodes can be housed in a single room.
The Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center (BCM-HGSC) was established by Richard A. Gibbs in 1996 when Baylor College of Medicine was chosen as one of six worldwide sites to complete the final phase of the international Human Genome Project. Gibbs is the current director of the BCM-HGSC.
Jody Hey is an evolutionary biologist at Temple University. In the 1980s and 1990s he did research on natural selection and species divergence in fruit flies (Drosophila). More recently he has worked on the development of methods for studying evolutionary divergence, on the divergence of cichlid fishes from Lake Malawi, on chimpanzees and on human populations. His research on divergence and speciation also lead him to study the difficulties of identifying species.
Drosophila ananassae is a species of fruit fly that is a useful model organism for genetic studies because it is easily cultured in the laboratory, and was one of 12 fruitfly genomes sequenced for a large comparative study.
Drosophila erecta is a West African species of fruit fly, and was one of 12 fruit fly genomes sequenced for a large comparative study.
Drosophila grimshawi is a species of fruit fly from Hawaii, and was one of 12 fruit fly genomes sequenced for a large comparative study.
Drosophila mojavensis is a cactophilic species of fruit fly from the southwestern United States and Mexico, and was one of 12 fruitfly genomes sequenced for a large comparative study.
Drosophila sechellia is a species of fruit fly, used in lab studies of speciation because it can mate with Drosophila simulans.
Drosophila virilis is a species of fruit fly with a worldwide distribution, and was one of 12 fruit fly genomes sequenced for a large comparative study. The males have bright red gonads that can be seen through the cuticle.
Drosophila yakuba is an African species of fruit fly that is predominantly found in open savanna, and was one of 12 fruit fly genomes sequenced for a large comparative study.
Peter D. Keightley FRS is Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh.
Therese Ann Markow is the Amylin Chair in Life Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Her research involves the use of genetics and ecology to study the insects of the Sonoran Desert. She was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2001 and the Genetics Society of America George Beadle Award in 2012. Her research received widespread attention for its alleged misuse of Native American genetic data.
Insect olfactory receptors are expressed in the cell membranes of the olfactory sensory neurons of insects. Similarly to mammalian olfactory receptors, in insects each olfactory sensory neuron expresses one type of OR, allowing the specific detection of a volatile chemical. Differently to mammalian ORs, insect ORs form a heteromer with a fixed monomer, Orco, and a variable OR monomer, which confers the odour specificity.
Cytochrome P450, family 305, also known as CYP305, is an animal cytochrome P450 family found in insect genome. The first gene identified in this family is the CYP305A1 from the Drosophila melanogaster.
The Hawaiian Drosophila are a paraphyletic and speciose lineage of Drosophila vinegar flies, and members of the subgenus Drosophila. Over 1000 species of Drosophila are endemic to the Hawaiian islands. The Hawaiian Drosophila species also include the "picture-wing" clade of Drosophila, named for the intricate patterns of melanin pigment on their wings. Over 100 species belong to the picture-wing clade of flies, prompting the generation of a database devoted solely to wing diversity in the Hawaiian Drosophila lineage. The Hawaiian Drosophila species group is paraphyletic, as the Scaptomyza genus is nested within the Hawaiian Drosophila clade.
References
- ↑ Drosophila 12 Genomes Consortium; et al. (2007). "Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny". Nature. 450 (7167): 203–218. Bibcode:2007Natur.450..203C. doi: 10.1038/nature06341 . PMID 17994087.
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