Summary

Drosophila melanogaster belongs to the melanogaster species group (melanogaster subgroup) within the Sophophora subgenus.

Drosophila melanogaster is a cosmopolitan and urban species. It is most commonly found in close association with human habitation, and is often found inside houses. The larvae of D. melanogaster feed on rotting vegetable matter that is undergoing fermentation due to yeast or bacterial action.

Drosophila melanogaster is one of the most studied organisms in biological research initially in the field of genetics, but later for the investigation of fundamental biological mechanisms ranging from the fields of ecology to neurobiology. The D. melanogaster genome was fully sequenced in 2000.

Related entries

Publication Citations

• Azevedo, Ricardo B. R., French, Vernon & Partridge, Linda, 'Thermal evolution of egg size in Drosophila melanogaster', Evolution, vol. 50, no. 6, 1996, pp. 2338-2345. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2410702. Details
• Collinge, J. E., Hoffmann, A. A. and McKechnie, S. W., 'Altitudinal patterns for latitudinally varying traits and polymorphic markers in Drosophila melanogaster from eastern Australia', Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 19, no. 2, 2006, pp. 473-482. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.01016.x. Details
• Gockel, Julia, Kennington, W. Jason, Hoffmann, Ary, Goldstein, David B., and Partridge, Linda, 'Nonclinality of Molecular Variation Implicates Selection in Maintaining a Morphological Cline of Drosophila melanogaster', Genetics, vol. 158, no. 1, 2001, pp. 319-323. http://www.genetics.org/content/158/1/319.full. Details
• Griffiths, J. A., Schiffer, M., and Hoffmann, A. A., 'Clinal variation and laboratory adaptation in the rainforest species Drosophila birchii for stress resistance, wing size, wing shape and development time', Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 18, no. 1, Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 213-222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2004.00782.x. Details
• Hallas, Rebecca, Schiffer, Michele, and Hoffmann, Ary A., 'Clinal variation in Drosophila serrata for stress resistance and body size', Genetical Research, vol. 79, no. 2, Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp. 141-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0016672301005523. Details
• Hoffmann, A. A., Blacket, M. J., McKechnie, S. W., Rako, L., Schiffer, M., Rane, R. V., Good, R. T., Robin, C., and Lee, S. F., 'A proline repeat polymorphism of the Frost gene of Drosophila melanogaster showing clinal variation but not associated with cold resistance', Insect Molecular Biology, vol. 21, no. 4, 2012, pp. 437-445. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2583.2012.01149.x. Details
• Hoffmann, A. A., Scott, M., Partridge, L. and Hallas, R., 'Overwintering in Drosophila melanogaster: outdoor field cage experiments on clinal and laboratory selected populations help to elucidate traits under selection', Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 16, 2003, pp. 614-623. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00561.x. Details
• Hoffmann, Ary A., Anderson, Alisha and Hallas, Rebecca, 'Opposing clines for high and low temperature resistance in Drosophila melanogaster', Ecology Letters, vol. 5, 2002, pp. 614-618. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2002.00367.x. Details
• Kennington, W Jason, and Hoffmann, Ary A, 'Patterns of genetic variation across inversions: geographic variation in the In(2L)t inversion in populations of Drosophila melanogaster from eastern Australia', BMC Evolutionary Biology, vol. 13, no. 100, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-13-100. Details
• Kennington, W.J., Partridge, L., and Hoffmann, A. A., 'Patterns of diversity and linkage disequilibrium within the cosmopolitan inversion In(3R)Payne in Drosophila melanogaster are indicative of coadaptation', Genetics, vol. 172, 2006, pp. 1655-1663. http://dx.doi.org/10.1534/genetics.105.053173. Details
• Lee, S.F., Chen Y., Reuter, C., Vinti, G., Rane, R.V., Rako, L., Partridge, L. and Hoffmann, A.A., 'Polymorphism in the neurofibromin gene, Nf1, is associated with antagonistic selection on wing size and development time in Drosophila melanogaster', Molecular Ecology, vol. 22, no. 10, 2013, pp. 2716-2725. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.12301. Details
• Lee, Siu F., Sgrò, Carla M., Shirriffs, Jennifer, Wee, Choon W., Rako, Lea, van Heerwaarden, Belinda, and Hoffmann, Ary A., 'Polymorphism in the couch potato gene clines in eastern Australia but is not associated with ovarian dormancy in Drosophila melanogaster', Molecular Ecology, vol. 20, no. 14, 2011, pp. 2973-2984. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2011.05155.x. Details
• Magiafoglou, A., Carew, M. E. and Hoffmann, A. A., 'Shifting clinal patterns and microsatellite variation in Drosophila serrata populations: a comparison of populations near the southernborder of the species range', Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 15, no. 5, 2002, pp. 763-774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1420-9101.2002.00439.x. Details
• Mitrovski, Paul and Hoffmann, Ary A., 'Postponed reproduction as an adaptation to winter conditions in Drosophila melanogaster: evidence for clinal variation under semi-natural conditions', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences, vol. 268, 2001, pp. 2163-2168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2001.1787. Details
• Rako, L., Poulsen, N. A., Shirriffs, J., and Hoffmann, A. A., 'Clinal variation in post-winter male fertility retention; an adaptive overwintering strategy in Drosophila melanogaster', Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 22, no. 12, 2009, pp. 2438-2444. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01852.x. Details
• Umina, P. A., Weeks, A. R., Kearney, M. R., McKechnie, S. W., and Hoffmann, A. A., 'A Rapid Shift in a Classic Clinal Pattern in Drosophila Reflecting Climate Change', Science, vol. 308, no. 5722, 2005, pp. 691-693. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1109523. Details
• van Heerwaarden, B. and Sgrò, C. M., 'The effect of developmental temperature on the genetic architecture underlying size and thermal clines in Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans from the east coast of Australia', Evolution, vol. 65, no. 4, 2011, pp. 1048-1067. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01196.x. Details
• Weeks, A. R., McKechnie, S. W. and Hoffmann, A. A., 'In search of clinal variation in the period and clock timing genes in Australian Drosophila melanogaster populations', Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 19, no. 2, 2005, pp. 309-656. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.01013.x. Details

See also

• Anderson, A. R., Hoffmann, A. A. and McKechnie, S. W., 'Response to selection for rapid chill-coma recovery in Drosophila melanogaster: physiology and life-history traits', Genetical Research, vol. 85, 2005, pp. 15-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0016672304007281. Details
• Anderson, A. R., Hoffmann, A. A., McKechnie, S. W., Umina, P. A. and Weeks, A. R., 'The latitudinal cline in the In(3R)Payne inversion polymorphism has shifted in the last 20 years in Australian Drosophila melanogaster populations', Molecular Ecology, vol. 14, no. 3, 2005, pp. 851-858. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02445.x. Details
• Carrington, L.B., Leslie, J., Weeks, A.R. and Hoffmann, A.A., 'The popcorn Wolbachia infection of Drosophila melanogaster: can selection alter Wolbachia longevity effects?', Evolution, vol. 63, no. 10, 2009, pp. 2648-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00745.x. Details
• Colinet, H. Lee, S.F., Hoffmann, A.A., 'Temporal expression of heat shock genes during cold stress and recovery from chill coma in adult Drosophila melanogaster', FEBS Journal, vol. 277, 2010, pp. 174-185. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-4658.2009.07470.x. Details
• Colinet, H., Lee, S.F. and Hoffmann, A. A., 'Knocking down expression of Hsp22 and Hsp23 by RNA interference affects recovery from chill coma in Drosophila melanogaster', Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 213, 2010, pp. 4146-4150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/​jeb.051003. Details
• Colinet, Hervé, Lee, Siu Fai, and Hoffmann, Ary, 'Functional Characterization of the Frost Gene in Drosophila melanogaster: Importance for Recovery from Chill Coma', PLoS One, vol. 5, no. 6, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010925. Details
• Debat, V., Milton, C.C., Rutherford, S.L., Klingenberg, C.P. and Hoffmann, A.A., 'Hsp90 and the quantitative variation of wing shape in Drosophila melanogaster', Evolution, vol. 60, no. 12, 2006, pp. 2529-2538. http://dx.doi.org/10.1554/06-045.1. Details
• Frydenberg, J., Hoffmann, A. A. and Loeschcke, V., 'DNA sequence variation and latitudinal associations in hsp23, hsp26 and hsp27 from natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster', Molecular Ecology, vol. 12, 2003, pp. 2025-2032. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01882.x. Details
• Harcombe, W.R. and Hoffmann, A.A., 'Wolbachia effects in Drosophila melanogaster: in search of fitness benefits', Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, vol. 87, 2004, pp. 45-50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2004.07.003. Details
• Hoffmann, A. A. and Weeks, A. R., 'Climatic selection on genes and traits after a 100 year-old invasion: a critical look at the temperate-tropical clines in Drosophila melanogaster from eastern Australia', Genetica, vol. 129, 2007, pp. 133-147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10709-006-9010-z. Details
• Hoffmann, A. A., Shirriffs, J. and Scott, M., 'Relative importance of plastic vs genetic factors in adaptive differentiation: geographical variation for stress resistance in Drosophila melanogaster from eastern Australia', Functional Ecology, vol. 19, 2005, pp. 222-227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.00959.x. Details
• Hoffmann, A.A. Ratna, E. Sgrò, C.M. Barton, M. Blacket, M. Hallas, R. De Garis, S. Weeks, A.R., 'Antagonistic selection between adult thorax and wing size in field released Drosophila melanogaster independent of thermal conditions', Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 20, no. 6, 2007, pp. 2219-2227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01422.x. Details
• Hoffmann, Ary A. and Harshman, Lawrence G., 'Desiccation and starvation resistance in Drosophila:patterns of variation at the species, population and intrapopulation levels', Heredity, vol. 83, 1999, pp. 637-643. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2540.1999.00649.x. Details
• Hoffmann, Ary A., Clancy, David J. and Merton, Eve, 'Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in Australian Populations of Drosophila melanogaster', Genetics, vol. 136, no. 3, 1994, pp. 993-999. http://www.genetics.org/content/136/3/993.full.pdf. Details
• Jensen, L.T., Cockerell, F.E., Kristensen,T.N., Rako, L., Loeschcke,V., McKechnie, S.W. and Hoffmann, A.A., 'Adult Heat Tolerance Variation in Drosophila melanogaster is Not Related to Hsp70 Expression', Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology, vol. 313A, no. 1, 2010, pp. 35-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jez.573. Details
• Kennington, W. Jason and Hoffmann, Ary A., 'The genetic architecture of wing size divergence at varying spatial scales along a body size cline in Drosophila melanogaster', Evolution, vol. 64, no. 7, 2010, pp. 1935-1943. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.00975.x. Details
• Kennington, W.J., Hoffmann, A. A., and Partridge, L., 'Mapping regions within cosmopolitan inversion In(3R)Payne associated with natural variation in body size in Drosophila melanogaster', Genetics, vol. 177, 2007, pp. 549-556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1534/genetics.107.074336. Details
• Lee, Siu F., Chen, Ying, Varan, Aiden K., Wee, Choon W., Rako, Lea, Axford, Jason K., Good, Robert T., Blacket, Mark J., Reuter, Caroline, Partridge, Linda, and Hoffmann, Ary A., 'Molecular basis of adaptive shift in body size in Drosophila melanogaster : Functional and sequence analyses of the Dca gene', Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 28, no. 8, 2011, pp. 2392-2402. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msr064. Details
• McDonald, S.S., Rako, L., Batterham, P. and Hoffmann, A.A., 'Dissecting chill coma recovery as a measure of cold resistance: evidence for a biphasic response in Drosophila melanogaster', Journal of Insect Physiology, vol. 50, 2004, pp. 695-700. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2004.05.004. Details
• Overgaard, J., Hoffmann, A. A., and Kristensen, T. N., 'Assessing population and environmental effects on thermal resistance in Drosophila melanogaster using ecologically relevant assays', Journal of Thermal Biology, vol. 36, no. 7, 2011, pp. 409-416. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2011.07.005. Details
• Rako, L. Blacket, M.J. McKechnie, S.W. & Hoffmann, A.A., 'Candidate genes and thermal phenotypes: identifying ecologically important genetic variation for thermotolerance in the Australian Drosophila melanogaster cline', Molecular Ecology, vol. 16, 2007, pp. 2948-2957. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03332.x. Details
• Rako, L., Anderson, A.R., Sgrò, C.M., Stocker, A.J. and Hoffmann, A.A., 'The association between inversion In(3R)Payne and clinally varying traits in Drosophila melanogaster', Genetica, vol. 128, 2006, pp. 373-384. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10709-006-7375-7. Details
• Sgrò, C. M., Magiafoglou, A., Faine, L. and Hoffmann, Ary A., 'Absence of clinal variation in virgin retention capacity in Australian Drosophila melanogaster', Evolutionary Ecology Research, vol. 20, 2006, pp. 407-413. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10682-006-0010-3. Details
• Sgrò, C. M., Milton, C. C., Jensen, L. T., Frydenberg, J., Loeschcke, V., Batterham, P., and Hoffmann, A. A., 'Nucleotide diversity in the Hsp90 gene in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster from Australia', Insect Molecular Biology, vol. 17, no. 6, 2008, pp. 685-697. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2583.2008.00843.x. Details
• Sgrò, C. M., Overgaard, J., Kristensen, T. N., Mitchell, K. A., Cockerell, F. E., and Hoffmann, A. A., 'A comprehensive assessment of geographic variation in heat tolerance and hardening capacity in populations of Drosophila melanogaster from eastern Australia', Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 23, no. 11, 2010, pp. 2484-2493. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02110.x. Details
• Telonis-Scott, M. and Hoffmann, A. A., 'Isolation of a Drosophila melanogaster desiccation resistant mutant', Journal of Insect Physiology, vol. 49, 2003, pp. 1013-1020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1910(03)00184-7. Details
• Telonis-Scott, M., Hallas, R., McKechnie, S.W., Wee, C.W., Hoffmann, A.A., 'Selection for cold resistance alters gene transcript levels in Drosophila melanogaster', Journal of Insect Physiology, vol. 55, no. 6, 2009, pp. 549-555. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2009.01.010. Details
• Telonis-Scott, Marina, Hoffmann, Ary A., and Sgrò, Carla M., 'The molecular genetics of clinal variation: a case study of ebony and thoracic trident pigmentation in Drosophila melanogaster from eastern Australia', Molecular Ecology, vol. 20, no. 10, 2011, pp. 2100-2110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2011.05089.x. Details
• Umina, P. A., Hoffmann, A. A., Weeks, A. R., and McKechnie, S. W., 'An independent non-linear latitudinal cline for the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate (α-Gpdh) polymorphism of Drosophila melanogaster from eastern Australia', Genetical Research, vol. 87, 2006, pp. 13-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0016672306007919. Details
• Weeks AR, McKechnie SW, Hoffmann AA., 'Linking inbreeding effects in captive populations to field performance - field releases with replicated Drosophila melanogaster lines under different temperatures', Conservation Biology, vol. 22, no. 1, 2007, pp. 189-199. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00816.x.. Details