Drosophilidae is a diverse,
cosmopolitanIn biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is a state of being found almost anywhere around the world. A cosmopolitan biological category, e.g. genus, may be called a cosmopolite.Examples of cosmopolitan species:* Humans* House dust mite...
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
of
fliesTrue flies are insects of the order Diptera , possessing a single pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax....
, including the
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
DrosophilaDrosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit...
, which includes fruit flies. The best known species is
Drosophila melanogasterDrosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is commonly known as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
that is used extensively for studies concerning
geneticsGenetics, , a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding...
, development,
physiologyPhysiology is the science of the functioning of living systems. It is a subcategory of biology...
,
ecologyEcology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the interactions of these organisms with their environment....
, behaviour, etc. The fruit fly is mostly composed of post-mitotic cells, has a very short lifespan, and shows gradual aging. Like in other species, temperature influences the life history of the animal.
Drosophilidae is a diverse,
cosmopolitanIn biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is a state of being found almost anywhere around the world. A cosmopolitan biological category, e.g. genus, may be called a cosmopolite.Examples of cosmopolitan species:* Humans* House dust mite...
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
of
fliesTrue flies are insects of the order Diptera , possessing a single pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax....
, including the
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
DrosophilaDrosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit...
, which includes fruit flies. The best known species is
Drosophila melanogasterDrosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is commonly known as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
that is used extensively for studies concerning
geneticsGenetics, , a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding...
, development,
physiologyPhysiology is the science of the functioning of living systems. It is a subcategory of biology...
,
ecologyEcology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the interactions of these organisms with their environment....
, behaviour, etc. The fruit fly is mostly composed of post-mitotic cells, has a very short lifespan, and shows gradual aging. Like in other species, temperature influences the life history of the animal. Several genes have been identified whose manipulation extends the lifespan of these animals.
Economic significance
Generally, drosophilids are considered nuisance flies.
Zaprionus indianus Gupta is unusual among Drosophilidae species in being a serious, primary pest of at least one commercial fruit,
figFIG may refer to:*Common fig, a large, deciduous shrub native to southwest Asia and the eastern Mediterranean region.*Ficus, a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs in the family Moraceae.-Acronym:* Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique...
s in Brazil.
Drosophila repleta larvae inhabit drains and spread bacteria.
Identification
The diagnostic characters for Drosophilidae include the presence of an incomplete subcostal vein, two breaks in the coastal vein, and a small anal cell in the wing; convergent postocellar bristles; and usually three frontal bristles on each side of the head, one directed forward and the other two directed rearward. More extensive identification characteristics can be found in "
Drosophila: A Guide to Species Identification and Use" by Therese A. Markow and Patrick O'Grady, (Academic Press, 2005) ISBN: 0124730523 or "
Drosophila: A Laboratory Handbook" by
M. AshburnerMichael Ashburner is professor of biology in the Department of Genetics at University of Cambridge and is the former joint-head of the European Bioinformatics Institute of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory .Ashburner attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School from 1953 to 1960. He...
, K. Golic, S. Hawley, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2005).
Phylogeny
The knowledge of the phylogeny of this family is incomplete. The family is subdivided in two subfamilies, the
DrosophilinaeThe Drosophilinae are the largest subfamily in the Drosophilidae. The other subfamily is the Steganinae.-Phylogeny:Many molecular studies have addressed small parts of the phylogenetic tree. Most of these studies are limited to species of the genus Drosophila...
and the
SteganinaeThe Steganinae Hendel, 1917, is the smaller of two subfamilies in the fruit fly family Drosophilidae. The other subfamily is the Drosophilinae.- Diagnosis :...
. The two subfamilies do not contain a single morphological character that distinguishes them. However, the combination of characteristics is sufficient to assign species correctly to the subfamilies.
Most
molecular phylogenyMolecular phylogenetics, also known as molecular systematics, is the use of the structure of molecules to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree....
studies focus on the
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
DrosophilaDrosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit...
and related genera. Currently, there is no overview of the more than 100 articles using molecular techniques to reconstruct the phylogeny.
External links