Drosophila Stock Maintenance
a technology for drosophila and stock, applied in the field of insect culture maintenance techniques, can solve the problems of inapplicability to small laboratories or instructional purposes, high system costs, etc., and achieve the effect of less laborious
Inactive Publication Date: 2019-05-02
RGT UNIV OF CALIFORNIA
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Benefits of technology
The present invention provides a simple and inexpensive method for maintaining Drosophila melanogaster cultures that is less labor-intensive than existing methods. It takes advantage of the differences in behavior and locomotion between the larva and adult stages, and uses a unique system of connecting containers. This system eliminates the need for a technician to transfer each new generation by hand, allowing healthy stocks to be maintained automatically for months. Another advantage is that the system automatically separates distinct generations of fruit flies from each other. By constantly maintaining the stocks in a linear array of vials, the potential for contamination and mis-labeling is eliminated.
Problems solved by technology
Although there are robotic systems available for this task, these systems are expensive and not practical for small laboratories or instructional purposes.
Method used
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[0020]In one embodiment of the present invention, an insect culture system may be assembled from a collection of components, which may be provided in the form of a kit. For example, FIG. 1 shows a collection of tubes 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d and dual-cap connectors 102a, 102b, 102c that may be assembled to form an insect culture maintenance system. The tubes and the dual-capped connectors are sized such that the caps of the dual-capped connectors fit on the ends of the tubes to close the ends. The tubes are open-ended cylindrical tubes preferably made of a durable, rigid, transparent material such as glass or hard plastic. Although the tubes are preferably open-ended cylinders, they could also have one or both ends be partially closed, or closed with a small hole, e.g., 3 / 16 inch (5 mm) or more in diameter.
[0021]Two detailed views of a dual-capped connector are shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. The dual-cap connector is preferably made of a single molded material, preferably a durable mat...
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An insect culture maintenance system includes a sequence of open-ended cylindrical tubes [500, 502, 504, 506] joined pairwise alternately at their tops and bottoms using multiple dual-cap connectors. Each dual-capped connector has a channel from an inside of a first cap to an inside of a second cap. In use, connectors that cap the bottoms of the tubes [508, 512] are filled with insect food media [518, 520], while connectors that cap the tops of the tubes [510] are open. As a result of this design, adults pass from one tube to the next through the top dual-cap connectors, while larvae pass from one tube to the next through the bottom dual-cap connectors, resulting in propagation of subsequent generations of insects through the sequence of tubes.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62 / 577,457 filed Oct. 26, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]None.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0003]The present invention relates generally to techniques for maintaining cultures of insects. More specifically, it relates to methods and systems for maintenance of Drosophila melanogaster and other insects.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]Drosophila melanogaster is a species of fly that is widely used in laboratories for genetics research and instruction. Its life cycle includes an egg, larva, pupa and flying adult. In the laboratory, live cultures of flies are commonly maintained in containers with a food media in the bottom. Adults lay eggs on the food media, and when the eggs hatch, the larvae and pupae feed on the food media. After they mature into adults flies, the adults are transferred t...
Claims
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Patent Timeline
Login to View More IPC IPC(8): C12N5/07C12M1/12C12M1/00C12M3/00
CPCC12M23/06C12M23/22C12M25/10C12M23/34C12N5/0601C12M23/46C12M23/44A01K67/033
Inventor SULLIVAN, WILLIAM T.
Owner RGT UNIV OF CALIFORNIA