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Updated: Jul 16, 2025
Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: February 15, 2017
A protocol for measuring the sexual receptivity of female Drosophila
Yan Tong Yang1, Shao Wei Hu2, Yan Zhu3
1State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China; Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China; Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research, Beijing 101408, China.
Abstract:
Female receptivity in mating is crucial for successful copulation, but protocols for quantifying female behaviors reflecting receptivity are scarce compared to the analysis of male behaviors. Here, we present a protocol for assessing the sexual receptivity of female Drosophila that considers behaviors from both sexes. We describe steps for preparing and loading flies into a courtship chamber, video recording the behaviors of the pairs, and analyzing their behavioral displays. This protocol includes behavior recognition criteria suitable for typical laboratory settings. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Yang et al. (2023).1.
