USDA
Oct. 8, 2003
Alcohol Tolerance in Fruit Flies
Alcohol Tolerance in Three Generations of ADH+ and ADH– Drosophila melanogaster
Kevin William Welsh, 14, Gramercy, La.
National Park Service Explorer Award, Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge, 2002
Project background: Having worked with fruit flies on previous experiments, Kevin was curious about how the flies respond to alcohol. Through his research, he knew that fruit flies feed on fermenting fruit, which releases alcohol. He also knew fruit flies have evolved with a metabolic enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh), that plays a large role in breaking down alcohol, making the flies tolerant of the toxic effects. Kevin was interested in testing the effect of alcohol on ADH+ and ADH– fruit flies to determine how Adh production is passed from one generation to the next. He hypothesized that Adh production would be a dominant trait.
Tactics and results: Kevin selected 6 ADH+ males and 6 ADH– females as the parental (P1) group. The first filial generation (F1) was selected for testing, and other F1 hybrids were placed in a vial to mate for 8 days, producing the second filial generation (F2). He then tested each generation of ADH+ and ADH– in vials of beer and water and observed the survival rate of the fruit flies.
The F1 generation of flies tolerated alcohol better than their ADH– parents. However, 50 percent of them died within 36 hours. The F2 group also demonstrated a tolerance to alcohol. The genetic principle of codominance was demonstrated, since one trait did not dominate over another trait in the F1 generation.
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