Abstract
Near‐infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a high‐throughput method to analyze the near‐infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It detects the absorption of light by molecular bonds and can be used with live insects. In this study, we investigate the accuracy of NIR spectroscopy in determining triglyceride level and species of wild‐caught Drosophila. We employ the chemometric approach to produce a multivariate calibration model. The multivariate calibration model is the mathematical relationship between the changes in NIR spectra and the property of interest as determined by the reference analytical method. Once the calibration model was developed, we used an independent set to validate the accuracy of the calibration model. The optimized calibration model for triglyceride quantification yielded coefficients of determination of 0.73 for the calibration test set and 0.70 for the independent test set. Simultaneously, we used NIR spectroscopy to discriminate two species of Drosophila. Flies from independent sets were correctly classified into Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans with accuracy higher than 80%. These results suggest that NIRS has the potential to be used as a high‐throughput screening method to assess a live individual insect's triglyceride level and taxonomic status.
Highlights
Remote sensing can be defined as any technology that acquires information about an object without making physical contact
These results suggest that near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has the potential to be used as a high throughput screening method to assess a live individual insect’s triglyceride level and taxonomic status
We investigated the potential for benchtop remote sensing, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to be a non-invasive and high throughput screening method for assessing the triglyceride levels and taxonomic status of two wild-caught Drosophila species, D
Summary
Remote sensing can be defined as any technology that acquires information about an object without making physical contact. Benchtop remote sensing acquires data in a controlled environment (e.g., precise lighting, scanning angle, distance between object and probes) and is highly suitable for integration into entomological research. We investigated the potential for benchtop remote sensing, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to be a non-invasive and high throughput screening method for assessing the triglyceride levels and taxonomic status of two wild-caught Drosophila species, D. melanogaster and D. simulans. There are at least five advantages of using NIRS as a remote sensing technology in entomological research. It allows simultaneous analysis of multiple components from a single spectrum. NIRS technology is non- invasive and does not require a highly skilled technician for the operation of the instrument or the analysis of the acquired data after optimisation.
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