Fruit Flies (Drosophila Melanogaster): Difference between revisions

'''''Drosophila melanogaster''''' is a species of [[fly]] (the taxonomic order Diptera) in the family [[Drosophilidae]]. The species is often referred to as the '''fruit fly''' or '''lesser fruit fly''', or less commonly the "[[vinegar]] fly", "[[pomace]] fly",{{efn|"Vinegar fly" is preferred by a handful of recent publications as being a more accurate description than "fruit fly".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Drosophila {{!}} insect genus|url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/Drosophila|access-date=2021-10-30|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Vinegar Flies|url=https://extension.psu.edu/vinegar-flies|access-date=2021-10-30|website=Penn State Extension|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":14" />}}<ref name=":14">{{pmid|12242218}}</ref> or "[[banana]] fly".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/semens-chemical-cocktail-can-hijack-a-mates-brain|title=Semen's Chemical Cocktail Can Hijack a Mate's Brain|last=Schilthuizen|first=Menno|author-link=Menno Schilthuizen|date=April 28, 2015|website=[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]]|access-date=September 11, 2023|quote=Even in the ejaculate of the lowly banana fly ''Drosophila melanogaster'', researchers have identified no fewer than 133 different kinds of proteins.}}</ref> Starting with [[Charles W. Woodworth]]'s 1901 proposal of the use of this species as a [[model organism]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050204163323/https://www.nobelprize.org/medicine/laureates/1933/morgan-bio.html T.H. Morgan's Nobel Prize biography mentioning C. W. Woodworth]</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Charles W. Woodworth: The Remarkable Life of U.C.'s First Entomologist| vauthors = Holden B |date=2015-01-01|publisher=Brian Holden Publishing|isbn=9780986410536|edition=1st |pages=135–137|language=en}}</ref> ''D. melanogaster'' continues to be widely used for biological research in [[genetics]], [[physiology]], microbial [[pathogenesis]], and [[Life history theory|life history evolution]]. As of 2017, six [[Nobel Prize]]s have been awarded to [[drosophilist]]s for their work using the insect.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nobel Prizes|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/07/fruit-fly-fascination-nobel-prizes-genetics|website=The Guardian|date=7 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=FruitFly-ResearchGate|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321176879}}</ref>

''D. melanogaster'' is typically used in research owing to its rapid life cycle, relatively simple genetics with only four pairs of [[chromosome]]s, and large number of offspring per generation.<ref name="Encyclopedia of genetics">{{cite encyclopedia | vauthors = Sang JH, Reeve EC | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of genetics | title = Drosophila melanogaster: The Fruit Fly | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JjLWYKqehRsC&q=drosophila+eggs+day+lifetime&pg=PA157 |access-date=2009-07-01 |date=2001-06-23 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, I |location=USA |page=157 |isbn= 978-1-884964-34-3 }}</ref> It was originally an African species, with all non-African lineages having a common origin.<ref>{{pmid|15014160}}</ref> [[Cosmopolitan distribution|Its geographic range includes all continents, including islands.]]<ref name="Markow2015">{{pmid|26041333}}</ref> ''D. melanogaster'' is a common pest in homes, restaurants, and other places where food is served.<ref name="ento.psu.edu">{{cite web|url=http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/vinegar-flies|title=Vinegar Flies, ''Drosophila'' species, Family: ''Drosophilidae''|publisher=Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania State University|date=2017|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref>

Flies belonging to the family [[Tephritidae]] are also called "fruit flies". This can cause confusion, especially in the Mediterranean, [[Australia]], and [[South Africa]], where the Mediterranean fruit fly ''[[Ceratitis capitata]]'' is an economic pest.