Fruit Fly Lab Paper

INTRODUCTION
The Drosophila melanogaster, more commonly known as the fruit fly, is a
popular species used in genetic experiments. In fact, Thomas Hunt Morgan
began using Drosophila in the early 1900's to study genes and their
relation to certain chromosomes(Biology 263). Scientists have located
over 500 genes on the four chromosomes in the fly. There are many
advantages in using Drosophila for these types of studies. Drosophila
melanogaster can lay hundreds of eggs after just one mating, and have a
generation time of two weeks at 21?C(Genetics: Drosophila Crosses 9).
Another reason for using fruit flies is that they mature rather quickly
and don't require very much space. Drosophila melanogaster has a life
cycle of four specific stages. The first stage is the egg, which is about
.5mm long. In the 24 hours when the fly is in the egg stage, numerous
cleavage nuclei form. Next, the egg hatches to reveal the larva. During
this stage, growth and molting occur. ...