Relationship between ADH activity and behavioral response to environmental alcohol in Drosophila

Three alcohol dehydrogenase genotypes, homozygous for either the electrophoretically fast, slow, or null allele at the Adh locus in D. melanogaster, were tested for relative larval alcohol preference behavior (APB) over a range of ethanol concentrations. Differences in behavior between genotypes were not significant at concentrations below 10%. At concentrations greater than 10%, avoidance behavior was negatively correlated with the relative ADH activity levels of the genotypes tested. A model based on the differential buildup of toxic acetaldehyde is proposed to explain the avoidance response.