Automated monitoring and quantitative analysis of feeding behaviour in Drosophila
Itskov PM, Moreira JM, Vinnik E, Lopes G, Safarik S, Dickinson MH, Ribeiro C
Application
Food Preference Assays
Measure food choice in two-choice arenas with electronic precision. No dyes needed — simultaneously quantify preference and intake for each individual fly.
How It Works
Each flyPAD arena contains two food wells with independent capacitance sensors. An individual fly is placed in the arena and given free access to both food options. The system records every sip on each food well independently and simultaneously.
Preference is computed electronically from the ratio of sips on each food source. Unlike dye-based assays that require sacrificing animals, the flyPAD provides real-time preference data from living flies throughout the experiment.
This approach eliminates the confounds of dye toxicity and dye-preference artifacts while capturing temporal dynamics of food choice that endpoint assays miss entirely.
What You Can Measure
Comprehensive preference metrics from individual flies in real time.
Preference Index
Ratio of sips between two food options, computed per fly over any time window.
Per-Food Intake
Independent sip counts and feeding time for each food choice.
Temporal Dynamics
How preference evolves over the assay period — early vs. late choice patterns.
Choice Probability
Fraction of flies choosing each option across a population.
Switching Behavior
Frequency of transitions between food sources within a session.
Total Consumption
Combined intake across both foods, measured alongside preference.
Key Publications
Commensal bacteria and essential amino acids control food choice behavior and reproduction
Leitão-Gonçalves R, Carvalho-Santos Z, Francisco AP, Fioreze GT, Anjos M, Baltazar C, Elias AP, Itskov PM, Piper MDW, Ribeiro C
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