Whole Animal Feeding FLat (WAFFL): a complete and comprehensive validation of a novel, high-throughput fly experimentation system

Maria D L A Jaime; Ghadi H Salem; Daniel J Martinez; Sean Karott; Alejandra Flores; Cameron D Palmer; Sharvani Mahadevaraju; Jonathan Krynitsky; Marcial Garmendia-Cedillos; Sarah Anderson; Susan Harbison; Thomas J Pohida; William B Ludington; Brian Oliver

doi:10.1093/g3journal/jkad012

Whole Animal Feeding FLat (WAFFL): a complete and comprehensive validation of a novel, high-throughput fly experimentation system

G3 (Bethesda). 2023 Mar 9;13(3):jkad012. doi: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad012.

Authors

Maria D L A Jaime^{1

2}, Ghadi H Salem³, Daniel J Martinez¹, Sean Karott², Alejandra Flores^{2

4}, Cameron D Palmer², Sharvani Mahadevaraju^{2

5}, Jonathan Krynitsky³, Marcial Garmendia-Cedillos³, Sarah Anderson³, Susan Harbison⁶, Thomas J Pohida³, William B Ludington^{1

7}, Brian Oliver^{2

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
² Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 50 South Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
³ Instrument Development and Engineering Application Solutions, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, 12 South Dr, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
⁴ Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
⁵ Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 50 South Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
⁶ Laboratory of Systems Genetics, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
⁷ Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.

Abstract

Non-mammalian model organisms have been essential for our understanding of the mechanisms that control development, disease, and physiology, but they are underutilized in pharmacological and toxicological phenotypic screening assays due to their low throughput in comparison with cell-based screens. To increase the utility of using Drosophila melanogaster in screening, we designed the Whole Animal Feeding FLat (WAFFL), a novel, flexible, and complete system for feeding, monitoring, and assaying flies in a high-throughput format. Our 3D printed system is compatible with inexpensive and readily available, commercial 96-well plate consumables and equipment. Experimenters can change the diet at will during the experiment and video record for behavior analysis, enabling precise dosing, measurement of feeding, and analysis of behavior in a 96-well plate format.

Keywords: Drosophila; feeding behavior; high-throughput; screening.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animal Feed*
Animals
Drosophila melanogaster* / physiology
High-Throughput Screening Assays

Associated data

Dryad/10.5061/dryad.q83bk3jmt

Grants and funding

R01 DK128454/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States