Drosophila Y-maze Assay: A Method to Assess Olfactory Responses in Flies

Abstract

Source: Simonnet, M. M., et al. Testing Drosophila Olfaction with a Y-maze Assay. J. Vis. Exp. (2014).

This video describes a method to test olfactory exploratory behavior in the fruit fly, called the Y-maze. The featured protocol clip demonstrates how to set up and conduct the assay.

Protocol

This protocol text is an excerpt from Simonnet et al., Testing Drosophila Olfaction with a Y-maze Assay, J. Vis. Exp. (2014). 1. Before Starting Use an isogenized reference stock bearing stable and robust behavioral phenotypes. There is no general rule for choosing this stock, since all potential controls may carry heterogeneous background alleles. Use this control strain to backcross every other stock necessary for…

Representative Results

Figure 1: Male olfactory response assessed with a Y-maze set-up. A) Split device. B) Assembled device. C) Set-up in working condition under far-red light. D) Quantification of male olfactory responses toward acetic acid (AA) or phenylacetic acid (PAA) both diluted in distilled water (10% v/v) (N = 11, representing a total of 110 flies). Statistical a…

Materials

Drosophila Polystyrene tube	VWR europe	734-2255	30 x 25 mm Y-maze
Drosophila Borosilicate tube	Dijon verre		95 X 25 mm Y-maze
Foam stopper	Dutscher	999038	Y-maze
Y-shaped connector	Europrix	11020605	Y-maze
100-1,000 µl pipette tips	Corning	4868	Join the following pipette tips to the Y-shaped connector. Cut 2 pipette tips at 65 mm from the wide end, and connect the narrow end (with a ~2 mm opening) to 2 test vials. These openings will limit the U-turns once the flies enter the tubes containing the odors. Cut 1 pipette tip at 35 mm from the wide end, and connect it to the loading vial.
Far-Red LED Bulb	Rubin-Lacaque	0RB180238	625-630 nm
Acetic Acid	Sigma-Aldrich	45725
Phenylacetic Acid	Sigma-Aldrich	P16621
Yeast	Sensient Flavors Strasbourg	1018880464
Cornmeal	eurogerm	Farine de maïs
Agar	Kalys	HP-697-25
Methyl hydroxy 4 benzoate	VWR international	25605293