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 Drosophila stock collections

All main stocks (>5000 individual lines) of Drosophila melanogaster are housed within a 18⁰C/70%RH controlled room with a remote wireless monitoring and alarm service.  The individual lab stock collections are maintained by dedicated support staff.  The majority of fly stocks are kept in triplicate and flies tipped onto new growth media every 2 weeks. 

Technical staff also ensure all stocks are correctly labelled with both the stock number and genotype of each fly culture. Any flies that are obtained from sources outside the laboratory are quarantined before bringing them into the fly lab to make sure they are not carrying anything that could spread to other stocks. 

All Drosophila cultures are allowed to go through 2 generations and be checked for mites before being brought into the main fly lab or culture rooms.  More information about how to quarantine stocks and ensure they are mite-free before entering these areas can be found in Information.

Fly food

The large-scale production of nutrient rich culture media is prepared in a specialist media maker.  This allows up to 40 litres per batch to be prepared twice weekly to the recipe below.

Technical support is provided for fly food preparation.

Fly food is available as follows:

Cotton Bunged Stock Vials (CST) - single use fly food in plastic vials with cotton bungs to be used outside D22 fly lab.

Foam Bunged Stock Vials (FST) - fly food in plastic vials with reusable foam bungs to be used in D22 fly lab and controlled temperature rooms D22b & D22c. 

Technician Stock Vials (TST) - fly food in plastic or glass vials with reusable foam bungs to be used by the fly technician team.

ICRF Bottles with cotton wool bungs – single use bottles for expanding stocks to be used mainly outside D22 fly lab.

ICRF Bottles with foam bungs - fly food in ICRF bottles with reusable foam bungs to be used in D22 fly lab and controlled temperature room D22c.  

Straight Sided Bottles with new style foam bungs - fly food in straight sided bottles with reusable foam bungs to be used in D22 fly lab and controlled temperature room D22c.  

Straight Sided Bottles with old style foam bungs - Fly food in straight sided bottles with single use bungs for experiments outside D22 fly lab and if experiments require writing on or labelling bungs.  Not allowed in the 18°C culture room. This is to prevent mites getting into the stock collections.  Straight sided bottles can be used in the main fly room at 18-19°C and the 25°C culture room for experiments. They should not be used for maintaining expanded stocks, as this is the principal cause of mite outbreaks. Mites easily infect these bottles, so you should never passage the old generation of flies from one of these bottles into a new bottle.  Also, please keep cultures in these bottles for a maximum of 4 weeks in the main lab and 3 weeks at 25°C.

Please collect vials and bottles with the new style foam bungs in a tray after use and put them onto the trolley between the controlled temperature rooms.  We can then freeze, wash and reuse the bungs.

Dried granulated yeast is available in D22.  

Apple Juice Plates are available in 60mm sizes.  These are stored in the cold room and can be put into the fridge in D22 as needed.  If you would like 90mm apple juice plates please ask one of the fly lab technicians the week before you need to use them.

Fly Food Recipe

Equipment

A large temperature controlled main laboratory maintained at 18⁰C houses 22 fly stations with dissection microscopes, each equipped with fly pads and piped CO₂ for the temporary anaesthetisation of flies. This allows flies to be identified and sorted for experimental work.

Fly cultures for experimental work can be housed in a 25⁰C/70%RH culture room with a remote wireless monitoring and alarm service.  Additional incubators set at a variety of temperatures are also available for experimental work as needed.

An injection microscope is situated within the facility and available for fly researchers.

Spare equipment such as paintbrushes and light bulbs for microscopes are available from one of the fly lab technicians.  Please ask if you can’t find an item you require.