Research Symposium

BIO

Hello, my name is Addison Crews. I am originally from Nashville, Tennessee. I'm a first year Biological Sciences student here at FSU. I currently plan on attending veterinary school after my undergraduate. I began working in the Hughes Lab in September 2022 and I've loved the experience. I have a piqued interest in field research within the realms of animal behavior and botany.

The Correlation Between Coloration and Aggression in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Pleiotropy, the phenomenon of one gene controlling multiple traits, is found throughout life. This phenomenon can correlate two seemingly unrelated traits and possibly hinder adaptation. Our lab used the study system Drosophila melanogaster to test for a correlation between behavioral aggression and melanin coloration across multiple generations. Melanogenesis is the process which controls melanin production and is thought to have an inhibitory effect on the production of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, which can influence aggressiveness. Therefore, we hypothesized that artificially selecting for higher levels of aggressive behaviors would lead to darker pigmentation in Drosophila. We tested this by quantifying aggressive behaviors (fencing, boxing, and lunging) over multiple generations to develop three artificially selected strains – high aggression, low aggression, and no selection (control). We analyzed the color pigmentation of these selected lines in Image J by interpreting the mean grey scale value of the pigmentation of the thoracic trident region. As we predicted, our results showed an increase in melanin levels as flies were selected for more aggressive behaviors. This clearly demonstrates these two traits are correlated, but additional work and genetic data is necessary to confirm that the correlation is due to pleiotropic effects.

Keywords: Pleiotropy, Aggressive Behavior, Color, Drosophila melanogaster