Abstract

Free fatty acids (FAs) are responsible for the taste of fat in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, as well as other mammals. As primary food sources, Drosophila melanogaster consume decaying materials such as fermenting fruit and plants, which contain medium chain FAs along with yeast products and sugars. Each FA activates a different subset of taste neurons with varying intensity and it is found that their taste preference can be dependent on concentration. Likewise, the presence of yeast and sugar can alter the flies' preferences in terms of what is found appetitive or aversive. Here, we test the preferences of individual FAs to find favored intensities and concentrations, and in order to mimic food sources found in flies’ natural environments, different combinations of FAs, sucrose, and yeast extract are used as well.