A New Method for delaying Pupation in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

METHODS of delaying pupation in D. melanogaster are not only of interest in relation to the physiology of metamorphosis but also provide useful tools for developmental-genetical studies. Up to the present, the main method available has been that of Beadle, Tatum and Clancy¹. They kept larvæ, aged less than 70 hr., on a low food-level provided by 1.5 per cent agar and 0.25 per cent brewer's yeast. According to Bodenstein² most of the larvæ starved in this way fail to survive, particularly, of course, those starved from early ages; moreover, the period for which pupation is delayed is highly variable, since in some cases larvæ pupate only one day late whereas in others the delay might be as much as five days.