Patent ID: 7005297

Claim:
A method for producing an inheritable change in locomotor behavior in Drosophila melanogaster comprising the steps of: a) culturing Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies; b) collecting 2 to 4 day old flies from the culture of step a); c) separating males and females obtained in step b); d) dividing the males into two groups and treating one group in the presence of a neuroactive drug in a medium comprising agar-agar, maize powder, brown sugar, dried yeast and nipagin and treating the second group in the absence of a neuroactive drug in a medium comprising agar-agar, maize powder, brown sugar, dried yeast and nipagin; e) subjecting the two groups of male flies of step d) to a negative geotaxis assay; f) examining locomotor activity of the two groups of male flies of step e) in terms of height climbed, wherein an alteration in height climbed in drug treated males compared to that of normally fed males is an effect of a neuroactive drug; g) further maintaining the two groups of male flies of step f) in a drug free medium; h) crossing separately the two groups of male flies of step g) with normal female fruit flies never exposed to any drug to obtain two groups of F1 flies; i) subjecting the two groups of F1 flies of step h) to a negative geotaxis assay; j) examining the height climbed by the two groups of F1 flies of step i), wherein an altered locomotor activity in F1 flies of drug exposed male flies relative to F1 flies of normally fed male flies is indicative of inheritance of altered behavior; k) self-crossing separately each group of the F1 flies of step j) to obtain two groups of F2 flies; l) subjecting the two groups of F2 flies of step k) to a negative geotaxis assay and m) examining the height climbed by the two groups of F2 flies of step I), wherein an altered locomotor activity in F2 flies of drug exposed male flies relative to F2 flies of normally fed male flies is indicative of inheritance of altered behavior.