New tool enables low-cost fruit fly behavior studies

Researchers have developed a simple and free tool to help study fruit flies, also known as Drosophila. This new analysis method can assist scientists in low-income areas or those working in the field to explore genes and nerve circuits related to complex social behaviors. The study, published in eLife, describes a cost-effective way to automatically measure male aggression and courtship behaviors in fruit flies. The authors created software that uses commonly available laboratory equipment and advanced behavior classifiers. These tools can accurately track and analyze social behaviors in fruit flies, which are key models in neuroscience research. Drosophila exhibit specific behaviors, like aggression and courtship, which researchers need to understand better. Traditional methods require expert observers, but they are time-consuming and not ideal for larger experiments. Automating these observations with machine learning can improve analysis efficiency, but past systems have been costly or inaccurate. The authors introduced a new tool, called the Drosophila Aggression and Courtship Evaluator (DANCE). It is designed to analyze six distinct behaviors in fruit flies, making it easier and more effective than previous methods. For instance, one classifier can accurately identify aggressive lunges made by the male flies, which is crucial for studying aggression. To create a user-friendly setup, the team used inexpensive materials. They filmed the flies using smartphone cameras and made test chambers from repurposed items, resulting in a total cost of less than $0.30. This setup is significantly cheaper than previous methods that required complex hardware. The research confirmed that the DANCE setup produces reliable results, matching findings from earlier studies. It also demonstrated that it could be used alongside common tools in genetic research. The DANCE system promises to make behavioral screenings more accessible, especially in resource-limited settings, and could be applied to studying other insects as well.