Abstract
We collected five sub-strains of the standard laboratory wild-type Drosophila melanogaster Canton Special (CS) and analyzed their walking behavior in Buridan's paradigm using the CeTrAn software. According to twelve different aspects of their behavior, the sub-strains fit into three groups. The group separation appeared not to be correlated with the origin of the stocks. We conclude that founder effects but not laboratory selection likely influenced the gene pool of the sub-strains. The flies' stripe fixation was the parameter that varied most. Our results suggest that differences in the genome of laboratory stocks can render comparisons between nominally identical wild-type stocks meaningless. A single source for control strains may settle this problem.
Highlights
In our quest for understanding gene function, we commonly manipulate gene expression and compare the phenotypes of the manipulated versus control organisms
The C57BL, 129 and FVB strains are commonly used in mouse studies; N2 is the common control strain used in Caenorhabditis elegans; and CantonSpecial (CS) is one of the most-used wild-type strains in Drosophila melanogaster genetics studies
We tested five different CS Drosophila melanogaster sub-strains in Buridan’s paradigm[6,7,8], where flies walk between two stripes on a platform surrounded by a water moat
Summary
In our quest for understanding gene function, we commonly manipulate gene expression and compare the phenotypes of the manipulated versus control organisms. For technical reasons and to facilitate comparison as well as reproducibility between different experiments, a limited number of control strains have been established in most model organisms. The strain has been used as a control in neurogenetics studies ever since. Several studies comparing the behavior of sub-strains of mice showed that their behavior differs[3]. Paylor and colleagues measured that one sub-strain of C57 mice showed a higher startle amplitude after tactile stimulation than another[4]. The behavior of different N2 C. elegans sub-strains was found to vary to a considerable extent[5]. We tested five different CS Drosophila melanogaster sub-strains in Buridan’s paradigm[6,7,8], where flies walk between two stripes on a platform surrounded by a water moat. We discuss possible solutions to prevent sub-strain related problems
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