FlyPAD

Are you measuring food intake?

FlyPAD is an automated high throughput system to measure feeding behavior in Drosophila. It is easy to setup and use.

In two clicks it provides scientifically validated and the most comprehensive quantitative description of feeding behavior in Drosophila on the market.

Quantification of feeding with high precision

The interaction between the proboscis of a fly and the food is detected as a change in capacitance between two electrodes: electrode 1 on which the fly stands and electrode 2, on which the food is placed.

96 channels, stackable up to 4064 flies at once

Food intake

Sips strongly correlate with food intake
Schematic of the experimental setup used to measure the dynamics of food intake and the kinetics of nutrient absorption. A fly expressing luciferase in the nervous system is placed on a flyPAD with a photo multiplier tube located above to simultaneously monitor its feeding behaviour and emitted photons. The fly feeds from a 10% sucrose solution containing 10 mM luciferin.
Food preference

Using flyPAD to study food choice.
Cumulative number of sips from flies choosing between 1mM and 5 mM sucrose food sources over time.
Feeding Motor Programme

Rhythmic feeding motor programme.
Top left – Distribution of the durations of sips on yeast food. Top right – Distribution of ISIs on yeast food. Bottom left – Distribution of sip durations on sucrose in three different starvation states. Bottom right – Distribution of ISIs on sucrose in three different starvation states.
Microstructure of feeding

Feeding behaviour microstructure reveals homeostatic strategies
How hunger and satiation induce stepwise changes in feeding strategies to achieve homeostasis?
Mean number of sips per burst and mean inter-burst interval length of activity bouts in fully fed, 4 h starved and 8 h starved animals.