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Updated: Sep 14, 2025
A High Throughput Microplate Feeder Assay for Quantification of Consumption in Drosophila
Published on: June 14, 2021
High-throughput measurement of Drosophila feeding behavior
Huai-Zheng Zheng1, Shuo Song1, Jing-Hao Tang1
1Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Hubei Key Laboratory of Metabolic Abnormalities and Vascular Aging, Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Life Science and Technology, College of Biomedicine and Health, Interdisciplinary Sciences Institute, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, P.R. China.
Abstract:
Accurate measurement of Drosophila feeding is vital for metabolic and aging studies, but current assays lack the throughput and sensitivity needed for large-scale screens. We introduce FlyPlate-BCA, a 96-well platform that combines automated single-fly tracking with BCA protein quantification for high-resolution, longitudinal intake measurements. FlyPlate-BCA detects a 0.1× nutrient dilution with 90% power using just four replicates, three times fewer than the capillary feeder (CAFE) assay. It uncovers sucrose-driven hyperphagia independent of osmotic stress and preserved lipid-satiety responses, while extended monitoring reveals a female-specific metabolic adaptation. By delivering individual-level data at scale, FlyPlate-BCA establishes a benchmark for nutritional genomics and appetite neurobiology and streamlines nutraceutical and genetic screening.
