The Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center collects, maintains, and distributes genetic stocks of the fly Drosophila melanogaster. The high degree of conservation between insects and vertebrates of many proteins and cellular and developmental pathways combined with the Drosophila extensive set of well developed genetic tools make it one of the foremost model organisms for investigating many fundamental problems in biology. The collection consists of over 21,600 different stocks that carry more than 30,000 unique genetic components. Mutant alleles of over 7,600 genes account for 41% of these unique components. Insertions of transgene constructs (engineered transposable elements) make up 50% of unique components and chromosome aberrations account for the remaining 9%. Stock information is incorporated into FlyBase, the primary Drosophila community database, and is available from the Center's web site, providing full access to up-to-date information about stocks available from the collection. In addition, Center scientists are available to answer questions and provide advice on the use of these materials. Stocks in the collection are in demand, with over 163,500 stock samples being requested from the Center last year. Academia-based researchers receive 99% of the samples distributed, 57% working in the U.S. and the remaining 42% spread among 47 countries. This resource contributes to scientific progress by assuring that a wide variety of documented strains of current research value are readily available to all researchers, and by promoting the effective use of available research materials through information services. Drosophila resource activities impact all areas of research with major contributions from Drosophila studies, including gene regulation, cell biology, developmental biology, neurobiology, behavioral biology, population biology, ecology and evolution. Given that 75% of human genes that have been associated with a heritable disease have a clearly related gene in Drosophila, research using Drosophila can be expected to have a direct impact on our understanding of human health in the coming years, including development of disease treatments. New users of the collections must contact the center for a Bloomington user number (BUN) before ordering stocks. Visit the Web site for information on ordering stocks and for current fees.
