Bittern, J., Praetz, M., Baldenius, M., Klämbt, C. (2022). Long-Term Observation of Locomotion of Drosophila Larvae Facilitates Feasibility of Food-Choice Assays.  Adv Biol (Weinh) 6(4): e2100938.

FBrf0253215

Research paper

Animal behavior is reflected by locomotor patterns. To decipher the underlying neural circuitry locomotion has to be monitored over often longer time periods. Here a simple adaptation is described to constrain movement of third instar Drosophila larvae to a defined area and use Frustrated total internal reflection based imaging method (FIM) imaging to monitor larval movements up to 1 h. It is demonstrated that the combination of FIM imaging and long analysis periods facilitates the conduction of food choice assays and provides the means to easily quantify food preferences.