Why are we using fruit flies in our research?

Research with fruit flies

Luisa Pallares, leader of Evolutionary Genomics of Complex Traits Research Group is primarily interested in the robustness of complex traits.

The Research Group uses the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. The 3 mm long fly typically gathers around rotten fruit and is one of the most often used animals in scientific experiments.

Fruit flies proliferate swiftly and are simple to raise. The Research Group investigates fundamental biological principles with these comparatively simple insects, which can take the place of more highly organised creatures like vertebrates in our experiments.

The Evolutionary Genomics of Compley Traits Research Group uses fruit flies to understand phenotypic variation within populations. That is, why do individuals of the same population look different? How is such phenotypic robustness regulated? How much of that is genetic? How does robustness in certain phenotypes constraints variability in others? How does robustness evolves given certain environmental perturbations? Why are some individuals more resistant to perturbations than others? To answer these questions, the research group address the effect that genetics, environment, and their interaction have on phenotypic variation.