Effect of the Group on Individual Choice in Extreme Geotaxis Response in Drosophila melanogaster
Location
CSU 253/4/5
Start Date
5-4-2010 10:00 AM
End Date
5-4-2010 12:00 PM
Student's Major
Biological Sciences
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Daniel Toma
Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
Is a behavior simply the sum of its parts? Do group responses equal the totality of the individuals constituting them? We asked this question based on classical experiments undertaken by Dr. Jerry Hirsch to select for extreme responses of the fly to gravity. These experiments constituted the first attempt to understand the genetics of a complex behavior. By breeding populations of flies walking up (away from gravity: negative geotaxis) and those that walked down (toward gravity: positive geotaxis) in a t-choice maze, he established Hi and Lo behavioral lines of flies, respectively. Previous studies of individual flies from these populations rigorously characterized their geotactic response and showed high reliability of the geotactic behavior, consistent with the population from which they were derived. Using this information we have screened individuals to determine whether they are Hi of Lo flies. We then ran these with a group of their parent population as a control, followed by a group of the opposite behavior. Such an experiment tells whether they would follow the group or behave strictly according to the geotactic behavior of the population from which they were derived. If changes occur within their response between these two populations, this possibly indicates a social component to the group response, independent of the behavior of the individual by itself. Data from individuals of the Hi line run with Hi and Lo populations have yielded results that may indicate a social component to the behavior.
Effect of the Group on Individual Choice in Extreme Geotaxis Response in Drosophila melanogaster
CSU 253/4/5
Is a behavior simply the sum of its parts? Do group responses equal the totality of the individuals constituting them? We asked this question based on classical experiments undertaken by Dr. Jerry Hirsch to select for extreme responses of the fly to gravity. These experiments constituted the first attempt to understand the genetics of a complex behavior. By breeding populations of flies walking up (away from gravity: negative geotaxis) and those that walked down (toward gravity: positive geotaxis) in a t-choice maze, he established Hi and Lo behavioral lines of flies, respectively. Previous studies of individual flies from these populations rigorously characterized their geotactic response and showed high reliability of the geotactic behavior, consistent with the population from which they were derived. Using this information we have screened individuals to determine whether they are Hi of Lo flies. We then ran these with a group of their parent population as a control, followed by a group of the opposite behavior. Such an experiment tells whether they would follow the group or behave strictly according to the geotactic behavior of the population from which they were derived. If changes occur within their response between these two populations, this possibly indicates a social component to the group response, independent of the behavior of the individual by itself. Data from individuals of the Hi line run with Hi and Lo populations have yielded results that may indicate a social component to the behavior.
Recommended Citation
Schelling, Derek; Nicole Gilbert; and Melissa Hanson. "Effect of the Group on Individual Choice in Extreme Geotaxis Response in Drosophila melanogaster." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 5, 2010.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2010/poster-session-A/21
