Four-Way Olfactometer Assay: A Method to Assess Odorant-Cued Responses in Drosophila

– A four-way olfactometer is a closed chamber with one-way ports at each corner, through which it can deliver up 세스 four odors, creating quadrants with distinct odor profiles. Begin an experiment by transferring awake flies into the chamber. Avoid anesthesia, as this may affect their behavior during the experiment.

Expose the flies 세스 clean air and observe their movements 세스 make sure that no odorants are contaminating the olfactometer and affecting fly behavior. Then, prepare the test odorants in separate vials and connect them 세스 the main chamber through the one-way ports. Expose the flies 세스 the odorants for a pre-defined period, removing the stimulus after the trial has ended.

Flies tend 세스 avoid quadrants with repellent odors while moving towards and settling in quadrants with attractive odors. Measure the flies' odor-cued behavioral responses by tracking their positions over time as they explore the olfactometer.

In the following protocol, we will use a four-quadrant olfactometer with an air delivery system 세스 analyze fly behavior in response 세스 ethyl propionate, a repellent odorant, and apple cider vinegar, which is attractive.

– At least five minutes in advance, switch on the temperature controller and set it 세스 25 degrees Celsius. Then, connect the odorant chambers 세스 the arena via a plastic tube. Check the airflow rate in each quadrant of the arena using an electronic flow meter. Make sure that the control and odor and air streams are both running at 100 milliliters per minute.

– Flies are very sensitive 세스 airflow, and it is critical that the airflow for each quadrant is verified before each experiment.

– Now, clean the arena and the glass plates using 70% ethanol. Wipe all the parts down two 세스 three times and allow them 세스 fully air-dry before proceeding. Next, clamp the glass plates 세스 the arena. Then, transfer the flies into the arena without anesthesia. Using gravity, let them enter through the hole in one of the glass plates, and then cover the hole with a circular mesh.

Now, place the fly-loaded arena into the light-tight chamber. Then, connect the four control air streams 세스 each arena corner. Close the door of the chamber and let the flies acclimatize 세스 the new environment for 10 세스 15 minutes.

After the acclimation period, run a 5 세스 10 minute control experiment in which flies are exposed 세스 four control air streams. It is essential 세스 now analyze the data immediately. If the flies are not evenly distributed in the arena, the arena must be reset.

– It is critical 세스 test the behavior of control flies 세스 just clean air. This will quickly verify that all background conditions are normal. Leaking light, temperature imbalance, tilted arena, or an odor contamination can all cause problems.

– If necessary, discard the flies and clean the arena again. If an odorant contamination is suspected, replace all the tubing. 계속 repeating the control test with new cohorts until the animals show no preference for any of the four quadrants. Then, connect the test odorant chamber 세스 the setup using a three-way valve, or reconnect the tubing and run a test experiment for 5 세스 10 minutes. For longer experimental recordings, rapidly stop and restart the tracking program every 20 minutes, or the data files will be too large.

Between tests, discard the flies, clean the arena and glass plates with 70% ethanol, and replace the connector tubes. Keep the dry airflow going 세스 continually flush the system. For efficiency, it is good 세스 have two arenas so cleaning can be done during runs.

– If several experiments are run on the same day, pay extreme care 세스 ensure that no odor is left in the system from a previous run. This is normally not a problem with low concentrations of odorant or with CO2. But for highly concentrated stimuli, up 세스 a 24-hour gap between experiment runs may be needed.