Name: measuring and altering mating drive in male drosophila melanogaster
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Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster at JoVE.com

The authors thank Mike Crickmore, Dragana Rogulja, and Michelle Frank for comments on the manuscript. Pavel Gorelik provided technical support for manufacturing the behavioral arenas. This work was conducted in Mike Crickmore's lab and is also supported by the Whitehall Foundation (Principal Investigator: Dragana Rogulja). S.X.Z. is a Stuart H.Q. and Victoria Quan Fellow at Harvard Medical School.

NOTE: This protocol describes the preparation (Sections 1 - 3), execution (Section 4), and analysis (Section 4) of 2-D satiety assays. Then, using dopaminergic stimulation as an example, Section 5 shows how to combine thermogenetic stimulation with 2-D satiety assays to induce hypersexuality. Section 6 describes 3 ways to verify the results of 2-D satiety assays. Finally, Section 7 shows how to measure the recovery of mating drive in male flies.
1. Fabricating 8- and 32-chamber Behavioral Arenas...

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Motivational states can be satiated, maintained, and recovered34. We present a 2-D satiety assay that quickly and robustly measures all of these aspects of mating drive in the fly. This assay opens up the possibility of using advanced fly genetic manipulations to study the molecular and circuit components of a motivated behavior.
The satiety assay relies on the male&#39;s ability to successfully court and copulate, and to terminate copulations at the appropriate time. T...

Work in Drosophila has provided deep and pioneering insight into many biological phenomena, including the nature of the gene1, principles of embryonic development2, circadian rhythms3, and the development and wiring of the nervous system4,5,6. Motivation remains far less well understood than these phenomena, perhaps because of the limitations on the systems that have been studied thus far. Motivation in the fly is primarily studied in the context of hunger, which presents many challenges due to their vanishingly small food intake per feeding bout and exoskeleton which precludes overt signs of fat deposition. Consequently, there is a need to expand the systems used to study motivation in the fly.
We describe a behavioral framework for the study of mating drive in Drosophila. This system takes advantage of the neurogenetic tools in the fly as well as the accessibility7,8,9,10,11,12 and the putative connectome of its sexually dimorphic circuitry8,13. In addition, much of the innate14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21 and learned22,23,24 sensory-motor circuitry controlling courtship has been worked out in detail, providing a rare opportunity to locate the exact circuit node upon which motivation impinges. We recently reported that, in the fly, as in humans, dopamine levels are central to mating drive25,26,27. We have gained genetic access to the relevant dopamine-producing and receiving neurons in the fly, facilitating detailed molecular- and circuit-level analyses of this conserved phenomenon using the assays we describe here25.
We add to the behavioral assays in Zhang et al.25 a new flat behavioral arena that allows video scoring, which we call a 2-dimensional (2-D) satiety assay, an important improvement over previous methods. Consequently, the new assay is more scalable and quantifiable, and therefore more suitable for genetic screens of genes and neurons involved in motivation. We use this new assay, together with courtship assays and neurogenetic manipulations, to demonstrate how to measure and alter mating drive in the fly.

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			<td style="width:743px;">Used to make arenas; see Supplemental Material 1 for designs.</td>
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			<td>Used to make arenas. Can be replaced by 3/4 inch screws (92314A113, McMaster-Carr) for 32-chamber arenas.</td>
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measuring and altering mating drive in male drosophila melanogaster

Despite decades of investigation, the neuronal and molecular bases of motivational states remain mysterious. We have recently developed a novel, reductionist, and scalable system for in-depth investigation of motivation using the mating drive of male Drosophila&#160;melanogaster (Drosophila), the methods for which we detail here. The behavioral paradigm centers on the finding that male mating drive decreases alongside fertility over the course of repeated copulations and recovers over ~3 d. In this system, the powerful neurogenetic tools available in the fly converge with the genetic accessibility and putative wiring diagram available for sexual behavior. This convergence allows rapid isolation and interrogation of small neuronal populations with specific motivational functions. Here we detail the design and execution of the satiety assay that is used to measure and alter courtship motivation in the male fly. Using this assay, we also demonstrate that low male mating drive can be overcome by stimulating dopaminergic neurons. The satiety assay is simple, affordable, and robust to influences of genetic background. We expect the satiety assay to generate many new insights into the neurobiology of motivational states.

To characterize Drosophila mating drive, 3-day-old, WT Canton-S males were tested in a 2-D satiety assay. Over the course of the assay (4.5 h), males mate an average of 4.8 &#177;0.3 (mean &#177;standard error of mean, SEM) times. Matings initiate mostly in the first 2 h (78%) (Figure 6A, 6B) and become less frequent as the assay progresses (Figure 6A, 6B). This decrease is not due to the lack of mating partners (74% females remain unmated throug...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster at JoVE.com

Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster

This article describes a behavioral assay that uses male mating drive in Drosophila melanogaster to study motivation. Using this method, researchers can utilize advanced fly neurogenetic techniques to uncover the genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms that underlie this motivation.

Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster

Despite decades of investigation, the neuronal and molecular bases of motivational states remain mysterious. We have recently developed a novel, ...

The overall goal of this assay is to measure and manipulate the male Drosophila mating drive in order to examine motivation in a reductionist system. This method can help answer key questions in the study of motivation like what genes and neurons control mating drive potentially revealing the logic behind the motivational circuitry. The main advantage of this method is that it provides a high throughput assay for measuring mating drive that can be used in concert with the powerful genetic tools available in the fly.At least three days before a 2-D satiety assay prepare female flies from a bottle of white 11 18 over heat shock hid fly stock. Once 20 to 50%of the pupae have eclosed and there are at least five males to propagate the stock, flip flies in to a new bottle. Next heat shock the original bottle in a 37 degree Celsius hot water bath for one hour to sufficiently activate heat shock hid to kill male larvae and pupae.After the heat shock only females will eclose from these bottles. To prepare the arena for experiments partially assemble the 2-D satiety arena and tighten it with thumb nuts and hex screws. Next place fresh fly food in to a clean, microwave safe bottle and add just enough water to cover the bottom surface.Microwave the food on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Visually check the progress and stir the food every 15 seconds until it is melted. Once the food is melted use a blunted 1000 microliter pipette tip to slowly transfer about 1 milliliter of melted food in to each chamber.Allow the food to re-solidify at four degrees Celsius for 10 minutes before completely assembling the arena. The completed arena can be used for experiments. Store the leftover food at four degrees Celsius for reuse.Before starting the 2-D satiety assay, set the incubator to 23 degrees Celsius for standard room temperature experiments and make sure the humidity is greater than 30%Leave a cup of water in the incubator if the incubator does not have humidity control. Place the 2-D satiety assay arena in the incubator for 30 minutes to equilibrate the temperature and prevent condensation in the chambers during the course of the experiment. Keep the rotating doors in the open position.Next use a fly aspirator to aspirate 15 to 20 virgin females in to each chamber of the arena. After the female flies are transferred, aspirate one male in to each chamber. Then place the loaded arena in to incubator under a standard consumer camcorder and film the flies for 4.5 hours.After filming use CO2 or cold temperature to anesthetize the flies before removing them from the arena. Score videos by noting when each male fly starts and ends each mating. Use the provided code to generate an ethogram.After logging all mating times, sum the number of matings for each fly. Aspirate one male in to each of the 32 chambers in a courtship arena. Then aspirate one female in to each chamber.Film the flies for twenty minutes using a standard consumer camcorder. Score the courtship index to quantify courtship over a five minute window. If a male fly does not start courtship in the first fifteen minutes, the courtship index is zero.Naive wild type flies should show a courtship index greater than 0.9 Whereas a fully satiated fly should have a courtship index below 0.2. After performing a 2-D satiety assay, aspirate the male flies from the chambers in to food vials. Isolate the male flies from the females at 23 degrees Celsius for the desired number of days.Then perform a 2-D satiety assay with the recovered males and score their matings over the course of just one hour. To characterize the Drosophila mating drive, three day old wild type Canton-S males were tested in a 2-D satiety assay. Over 4.5 hours males mate an average of 4.8 times.78%of matings initiate in the first two hours. Matings become less frequent as the assay progresses. This decline in mating behavior is also seen when the males are tested in courtship assays with new females and is recovered after the males have been isolated from females for three days.At the end of 2-D satiety assays dopaminergic stimulation increased both courtship and copulation. The reversal effects are not observed with parental controlled genotypes. Once mastered, this assay can be prepared in 30 minutes and scored in an hour and a half.This assay can be performed in concert with genetic and neuronal manipulations such as RNAi knockdown and optogenetics to determine which genes and neurons control mating drive.

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Research

JoVE Journal

Neuroscience

Single Sensillum Recordings in the Insects Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae

The sense of smell is essential for insects to find foods, mates, predators, and oviposition sites3. Insect olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) are enclosed in sensory hairs called sensilla, which cover the surface of olfactory organs. The surface of each sensillum is covered with tiny pores, through which odorants pass and dissolve in a fluid called sensillum lymph, which bathes the sensory dendrites of the OSNs housed in a given sensillum. The OSN dendrites express odorant receptor (OR) proteins, which in insects function as odor-gated ion channels4, 5. The interaction of odorants with ORs either increases or decreases the basal firing rate of the OSN. This neuronal activity in the form of action potentials embodies the first representation of the quality, intensity, and temporal characteristics of the odorant6, 7.
Given the easy access to these sensory hairs, it is possible to perform extracellular recordings from single OSNs by introducing a recording electrode into the sensillum lymph, while the reference electrode is placed in the lymph of the eye or body of the insect. In Drosophila, sensilla house between one and four OSNs, but each OSN typically displays a characteristic spike amplitude. Spike sorting techniques make it possible to assign spiking responses to individual OSNs. This single sensillum recording (SSR) technique monitors the difference in potential between the sensillum lymph and the reference electrode as electrical spikes that are generated by the receptor activity on OSNs1, 2, 8. Changes in the number of spikes in response to the odorant represent the cellular basis of odor coding in insects. Here, we describe the preparation method currently used in our lab to perform SSR on Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae, and show representative traces induced by the odorants in a sensillum-specific manner.

Single Sensillum Recordings in the Insects Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae

Electrophysiological responses of olfactory sensory neurons to odorants can be measured in insects using single sensillum recordings. In this video article we will demonstrate how to perform single sensillum recordings in the antennae of the vinegar fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and the maxillary palps of the malaria mosquito (Anopheles gambiae).

The sense of smell is essential for insects to find foods, mates, predators, and oviposition sites3. Insect olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) are enclosed ...

Optogenetic Stimulation of Escape Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

A growing number of genetically encoded tools are becoming available that allow non-invasive manipulation of the neural activity of specific neurons in Drosophila melanogaster1. Chief among these are optogenetic tools, which enable the activation or silencing of specific neurons in the intact and freely moving animal using bright light. Channelrhodopsin (ChR2) is a light-activated cation channel that, when activated by blue light, causes depolarization of neurons that express it. ChR2 has been effective for identifying neurons critical for specific behaviors, such as CO2 avoidance, proboscis extension and giant-fiber mediated startle response2-4. However, as the intense light sources used to stimulate ChR2 also stimulate photoreceptors, these optogenetic techniques have not previously been used in the visual system. Here, we combine an optogenetic approach with a mutation that impairs phototransduction to demonstrate that activation of a cluster of loom-sensitive neurons in the fly's optic lobe, Foma-1 neurons, can drive an escape behavior used to avoid collision. We used a null allele of a critical component of the phototransduction cascade, phospholipase C-&beta;, encoded by the norpA gene, to render the flies blind and also use the Gal4-UAS transcriptional activator system to drive expression of ChR2 in the Foma-1 neurons. Individual flies are placed on a small platform surrounded by blue LEDs. When the LEDs are illuminated, the flies quickly take-off into flight, in a manner similar to visually driven loom-escape behavior. We believe that this technique can be easily adapted to examine other behaviors in freely moving flies.

Optogenetic Stimulation of Escape Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

Genetically encoded optogenetic tools enable noninvasive manipulation of specific neurons in the Drosophila brain. Such tools can identify neurons whose activation is sufficient to elicit or suppress particular behaviors. Here we present a method for activating Channelrhodopsin2 that is expressed in targeted neurons in freely walking flies.

A  growing number of genetically encoded tools are becoming available that allow non-invasive  manipulation of the neural activity of specific neurons in ...

Determination of the Spontaneous Locomotor Activity in Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster has been used as an excellent model organism to study environmental and genetic manipulations that affect behavior. One such behavior is spontaneous locomotor activity. Here we describe our protocol that utilizes Drosophila population monitors and a tracking system that allows continuous monitoring of the spontaneous locomotor activity of flies for several days at a time. This method is simple, reliable, and objective and can be used to examine the effects of aging, sex, changes in caloric content of food, addition of drugs, or genetic manipulations that mimic human diseases.

Determination of the Spontaneous Locomotor Activity in Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster are useful in studying genetic or environmental manipulations that affect behaviors such as spontaneous locomotor activity.&#160; Here we describe a protocol that utilizes monitors with infrared beams and data analysis software to quantify spontaneous locomotor activity.&#160;

Drosophila melanogaster has been used as an excellent model organism to study environmental and genetic manipulations that affect behavior. One such ...

Straightforward Assay for Quantification of Social Avoidance in Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster is an emerging model to study different aspects of social interactions. For example, flies avoid areas previously occupied by stressed conspecifics due to an odorant released during stress known as the Drosophila stress odorant (dSO). Through the use of the T-maze apparatus, one can quantify the avoidance of the dSO by responder flies in a very affordable and robust assay. Conditions necessary to obtain a strong performance are presented here. A stressful experience is necessary for the flies to emit dSO, as well as enough emitter flies to cause a robust avoidance response to the presence of dSO. Genetic background, but not their group size, strongly altered the avoidance of the dSO by the responder flies. Canton-S and Elwood display a higher performance in avoiding the dSO than Oregon and Samarkand strains. This behavioral assay will allow identification of mechanisms underlying this social behavior, and the assessment of the influence of genes and environmental conditions on both emission and avoidance of the dSO. Such an assay can be included in batteries of simple diagnostic tests used to identify social deficiencies of mutants or environmental conditions of interest.

Straightforward Assay for Quantification of Social Avoidance in Drosophila melanogaster

Here, we present a protocol to quantify the avoidance of stressed individuals. This paradigm is powerful yet user-friendly and can be used to assess the influence of genes and environment on one kind of social interaction in Drosophila melanogaster.

Drosophila melanogaster is an emerging model to study different aspects of social interactions. For example, flies avoid areas previously occupied by ...

Dyeing Insects for Behavioral Assays: the Mating Behavior of Anesthetized Drosophila

Mating experiments using Drosophila have contributed greatly to the understanding of sexual selection and behavior. Experiments often require simple, easy and cheap methods to distinguish between individuals in a trial. A standard technique for this is CO2 anaesthesia and then labelling or wing clipping each fly. However, this is invasive and has been shown to affect behavior. Other techniques have used coloration to identify flies. This article presents a simple and non-invasive method for labelling Drosophila that allows them to be individually identified within experiments, using food coloring. This method is used in trials where two males compete to mate with a female. Dyeing allowed quick and easy identification. There was, however, some difference in the strength of the coloration across the three species tested. Data is presented showing the dye has a lower impact on mating behavior than CO2 in Drosophila melanogaster. The impact of CO2 anaesthesia is shown to depend on the species of Drosophila, with D. pseudoobscura and D. subobscura showing no impact, whereas D. melanogaster males had reduced mating success. The dye method presented is applicable to a wide range of experimental designs.

Dyeing Insects for Behavioral Assays: the Mating Behavior of Anesthetized Drosophila

This protocol describes a simple, cost effective way to individually identify Drosophila or other insects. Demonstration data investigating mating success across three species of Drosophila show that this method is comparable or better than the use of CO2 anaesthesia.

Mating experiments using Drosophila have contributed greatly to the understanding of sexual selection and behavior. Experiments often require simple, easy ...

Conditions Affecting Social Space in Drosophila melanogaster

The social space assay described here can be used to quantify social interactions of Drosophila melanogaster &#8212; or other small insects &#8212; in a straightforward manner. As we previously demonstrated 1, in a two-dimensional chamber, we first force the flies to form a tight group, subsequently allowing them to take their preferred distance from each other. After the flies have settled, we measure the distance to the closest neighbor (or social space), processing a static picture with free online software (ImageJ). The analysis of the distance to the closest neighbor allows researchers to determine the effects of genetic and environmental factors on social interaction, while controlling for potential confounding factors. Diverse factors such as climbing ability, time of day, sex, and number of flies, can modify social spacing of flies. We thus propose a series of experimental controls to mitigate these confounding effects. This assay can be used for at least two purposes. First, researchers can determine how their favorite environmental shift (such as isolation, temperature, stress or toxins) will impact social spacing 1,2. Second, researchers can dissect the genetic and neural underpinnings of this basic form of social behavior 1,3. Specifically, we used it as a diagnostic tool to study the role of orthologous genes thought to be involved in social behavior in other organisms, such as candidate genes for autism in humans 4.

Conditions Affecting Social Space in Drosophila melanogaster

The effect of genes and environment on social space of Drosophila melanogaster can be quantified through a powerful but straightforward analytical paradigm. We show here different factors that can affect this social space, and thus need to be taken into consideration when designing experiments in this paradigm.

The social space assay described here can be used to quantify social interactions of Drosophila melanogaster &#8212; or other small insects &#8212; in a ...

A Behavioral Assay for Mechanosensation of MARCM-based Clones in Drosophila melanogaster

Because of the structural and functional homology to the hair cells of the mammalian inner ear, the neurons that innervate the Drosophila external sense organs provide an excellent model system for the study of mechanosensation. This protocol describes a simple touch behavior in fruit flies which can be used to identify mutations that interfere with mechanosensation. The tactile stimulation of a macrochaete bristle on the thorax of flies elicits a grooming reflex from either the first or third leg. Mutations that interfere with mechanotransduction (such as NOMPC), or with other aspects of the reflex arc, can inhibit the grooming response. A traditional screen of adult behaviors would have missed mutants that have essential roles during development. Instead, this protocol combines the touch screen with mosaic analysis with a repressible cell marker (MARCM) to allow for only limited regions of homozygous mutant cells to be generated and marked by the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP). By testing MARCM clones for abnormal behavioral responses, it is possible to screen a collection of lethal p-element mutations to search for new genes involved in mechanosensation that would have been missed by more traditional methods.

A Behavioral Assay for Mechanosensation of MARCM-based Clones in Drosophila melanogaster

In order to identify novel mutations affecting mechanosensation, we designed an assay that measures the behavioral response to tactile stimulation of fly bristles in mutant clones generated by the MARCM method. The combination of techniques allows for the identification of mechanosensitive mutations that would otherwise be lethal.

Because of the structural and functional homology to the hair cells of the mammalian inner ear, the neurons that innervate the Drosophila external sense ...

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

The Drosophila melanogaster larval path-length phenotype is an established measure used to study the genetic and environmental contributions to behavioral variation. The larval path-length assay was developed to measure individual differences in foraging behavior that were later linked to the foraging gene. Larval path-length is an easily scored trait that facilitates the collection of large sample sizes, at minimal cost, for genetic screens. Here we provide a detailed description of the current protocol for the larval path-length assay first used by Sokolowski. The protocol details how to reproducibly handle test animals, perform the behavioral assay and analyze the data. An example of how the assay can be used to measure behavioral plasticity in response to environmental change, by manipulating feeding environment prior to performing the assay, is also provided. Finally, appropriate test design as well as environmental factors that can modify larval path-length such as food quality, developmental age and day effects are discussed.

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

We provide a detailed protocol for a Drosophila melanogaster foraging path-length assay. We discuss the preparation and handling of test animals, how to perform the assay and analyze the data.

The Drosophila melanogaster larval path-length phenotype is an established measure used to study the genetic and environmental contributions to behavioral ...

The CApillary FEeder Assay Measures Food Intake in Drosophila melanogaster

For most animals, feeding is an essential behavior for securing survival, and it influences development, locomotion, health and reproduction. Ingestion of the right type and quantity of food therefore has a major influence on quality of life. Research on feeding behavior focuses on the underlying processes that ensure actual feeding and unravels the role of factors regulating internal energy homeostasis and the neuronal bases of decision-making. The model organism Drosophila melanogaster, with its great variety of genetically traceable tools for labeling and manipulating single neurons, allows mapping of neuronal networks and identification of molecular signaling cascades involved in the regulation of food intake. This report demonstrates the CApillary FEeder assay (CAFE) and shows how to measure food intake in a group of flies for time spans ranging from hours to days. This easy-to-use assay consists of glass capillaries filled with liquid food that flies can freely access and feed on. Food consumption in the assay is accurately determined using simple measurement tools. Herein we describe step-by-step the method from setup to successful execution of the CAFE assay, and provide practical examples to analyze the food intake of a group of flies under controlled conditions. The reader is guided through possible limitations of the assay, and advantages and disadvantages of the method compared to other feeding assays in D. melanogaster are evaluated.

The CApillary FEeder Assay Measures Food Intake in Drosophila melanogaster

The CApillary FEeder (CAFE) assay is a simple, budget-friendly, highly reliable method for investigating mechanisms underlying food intake. Used with the highly versatile genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster, it provides a powerful means of gaining new insights into regulatory mechanisms of food intake.

For most animals, feeding is an essential behavior for securing survival, and it influences development, locomotion, health and reproduction. Ingestion of ...

Metabolic Analysis of Drosophila melanogaster Larval and Adult Brains

This protocol describes a method for measuring the metabolism in Drosophila melanogaster larval and adult brains. Quantifying metabolism in whole organs provides a tissue-level understanding of energy utilization that cannot be captured when analyzing primary cells and cell lines. While this analysis is ex vivo, it allows for the measurement from a number of specialized cells working together to perform a function in one tissue and more closely models the in vivo organ. Metabolic reprogramming has been observed in many neurological diseases, including neoplasia, and neurodegenerative diseases. This protocol was developed to assist the D. melanogaster community&#39;s investigation of metabolism in neurological disease models using a commercially available metabolic analyzer. Measuring metabolism of whole brains in the metabolic analyzer is challenging due to the geometry of the brain. This analyzer requires samples to remain at the bottom of a 96-well plate. Cell samples and tissue punches can adhere to the surface of the cell plate or utilize spheroid plates, respectively. However, the spherical, three-dimensional shape of D. melanogaster brains prevents the tissue from adhering to the plate. This protocol requires a specially designed and manufactured micro-tissue restraint that circumvents this problem by preventing any movement of the brain while still allowing metabolic measurements from the analyzer&#39;s two solid-state sensor probes. Oxygen consumption and extracellular acidification rates are reproducible and sensitive to a treatment with metabolic inhibitors. With a minor optimization, this protocol can be adapted for use with any whole tissue and/or model system, provided that the sample size does not exceed the chamber generated by the restraint. While basal metabolic measurements and an analysis after a treatment with mitochondrial inhibitors are described within this protocol, countless experimental conditions, such as energy source preference and rearing environment, could be interrogated.

Metabolic Analysis of Drosophila melanogaster Larval and Adult Brains

We present a protocol for measuring oxygen consumption and extracellular acidification in Drosophila melanogaster larval and adult brains. A metabolic analyzer is utilized with an adapted and optimized protocol. Micro-tissue restraints are a critical component of this protocol and were designed and created specifically for their use in this analysis.

This protocol describes a method for measuring the metabolism in Drosophila melanogaster larval and adult brains. Quantifying metabolism in whole organs ...