Collection of Mutant Types of Drosophila melanogaster

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides renewed support for the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center, which collects, maintains, and distributes genetically marked stocks of the common fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The high degree of conservation of proteins and of cellular and developmental pathways observed among insects and vertebrates, in combination with an extensive set of well developed genetic tools, has made the fruit fly one of the foremost model organisms for investigation of fundamental problems in biology. The extensive collection of genetically defined strains housed at the Bloomington Stock Center has become a critical resource for modern research using Drosophila. The collection consists of over 12,500 different genetic stocks, most genetically marked with visible, lethal or sterile mutations (41% of the collection), other alleles (11%), chromosome aberrations (20%), or transposon insertions (18%). The remaining 10% consist of special-purpose stocks (10%), including those used for rapid mapping. Information about stocks is incorporated into FlyBase, the primary Drosophila community database, and is available from the Center's web site. This provides the community of users with full access to up-to-date information about stocks available from the collection. In addition, Center scientists are available to answer questions and provide advice on the use of these materials. Strains in the collection are in demand, with an average of 115,000 stocks a year requested from the Center. Academic researchers receive over 95% of the samples distributed. This resource contributes to scientific progress by assuring that a wide variety of documented strains of current research value are readily available to all researchers, and by promoting the effective use of available research materials through information services. Drosophila resource activities impact all areas of research that make use of Drosophila studies. Among others, these include gene regulation, cell biology, developmental biology, neurobiology, behavioral biology, population biology, ecology and evolution.