title: A high-throughput behavioral paradigm for Drosophila olfaction - The Flywalk.
abstract: How can odor-guided behavior of numerous individual Drosophila be assessed automatically with high temporal resolution? For this purpose we introduce the automatic integrated tracking and odor-delivery system Flywalk. In fifteen aligned small wind tunnels individual flies are exposed to repeated odor pulses, well defined in concentration and timing. The flies' positions are visually tracked, which allows quantification of the odor-evoked walking behavior with high temporal resolution of up to 100 ms. As a demonstration of Flywalk we show that the flies' behavior is odorant-specific; attractive odors elicit directed upwind movements, while repellent odors evoke decreased activity, followed by downwind movements. These changes in behavior differ between sexes. Furthermore our findings show that flies can evaluate the sex of a conspecific and males can determine a female's mating status based on olfactory cues. Consequently, Flywalk allows automatic screening of individual flies for their olfactory preference and sensitivity.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Steck
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Veit
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grandy
authors.forename: Sergi Bermúdez I
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Badia
authors.forename: Sergi Bermdez I
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Badia
authors.forename: Zenon
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mathews
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Verschure
authors.forename: Bill S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Hansson
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knaden
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D012903:Smell