Lifespan Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster: Generating Survival Curves to Identify Differences in Fly Longevity
Published: April 30, 2023
Abstract
Source: Bovier, T. F., et al. Methods to Test Endocrine Disruption in Drosophila melanogaster. J. Vis. Exp. (2019).
Scientists use the Drosophila lifespan protocol to measure how different experimental conditions affect flies' longevity and generate survival curves in the process to quantify the experimental outcomes. The sample protocol features the assay being applied to study the effects on longevity from exposure to varying concentrations of endocrine disruptor chemicals, or EDCs, such as 17-α-ethinylestradiol (EE2).
Protocol
This protocol is an excerpt from Bovier et al., Methods to Test Endocrine Disruption in Drosophila melanogaster, J. Vis. Exp. (2019). 1. Food Preparation For stock maintenance and for larval growth, use a cornmeal medium containing 3% powdered yeast, 10% sucrose, 9% precooked cornmeal, 0.4% agar, thereafter called Cornmeal medium (CM). Put 30 g of yeast into 100 mL of tap water, bring it to a boil and let it boil for 15 min. <…
Representative Results
Figure 1: Lifespan curves. On the left, a representative table is reported in which the number of dead flies has been recorded every 3 days, both for the treatment group (medium + EDC [0.05 mM EE2]) and for the control group (medium + solvent), throughout the entire experimental period. The mean lifespan of each group has been calculated using the MATRIX SUM.PRODUCT; the treated group shortened the m…
Materials
| 17α-Ethinylestradiol | Sigma | E4876-1G | |
| Agar for Drosophila medium | BIOSIGMA | 789148 | |
| Cornmeal | CA' BIANCA | ||
| Drosophila Vials | BIOSIGMA | 789008 | 25 mm x 95 mm |
| Drosophila Vials | BIOSIGMA | 789009 | 29 mm x 95 mm |
| Drosophila Vials | Kaltek | 187 | 22 mm x 63 mm |
| Ethanol | FLUKA | 2860 | |
| Glass Bottle | 250 mL Bottles | ||
| Glass Vials | Microtech | ST 10024 | Flat bottom tube 100 x 24 |
| Instant Success yeast | ESKA | Powdered yeast | |
| Methyl4-hydroxybenzoate | SIGMA | H5501 | |
| Stereomicroscope with LED lights | Leica | S4E | |
| Sucrose | HIMEDIA | MB025 | |
| Hand blender Pimmy | Ariete | food processor |
Cite This Article
Lifespan Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster: Generating Survival Curves to Identify Differences in Fly Longevity. J. Vis. Exp. (Pending Publication), e20104, doi: (2023).