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Nutty as a Fruit Fly Trivia Quiz

Scientists involved in the identification of genes in Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly) are notorious amongst geneticists for their quirky sense of humour when it comes to naming these genes. This quiz looks at ten of my favourites.

A multiple-choice quiz by doublemm. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
doublemm

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
348,503

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
361

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Drosophila mutants deficient in one gene display a rather odd phenotype (observable characteristic) which has led quirky fruit fly scientists to name it 'Groucho'. What phenotype is expressed by these mutants? Hint

A tendency to engage in monkey business

Light circles around the eyes

A large amount of facial bristles

An innate addiction to nicotine

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Question 2 of 10

2. A fruit fly which is defective in this gene is not itself in any danger, but when the fruit fly has the gene known as 'asp', its absence is often fatal. What name is given to this gene? Hint

Thor

Eurydice

Cleopatra

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Question 3 of 10

3. Drosophila which have a defective version of this next gene may experience problems in eye development. This has led to the gene being known by which name, which is the medical term for a squint? Hint

Strabismus

Sternutation

Singultus

Epistaxis

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Question 4 of 10

4. The Indy gene in Drosophila is an acronym for "I'm not dead yet", a line taken from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". What characteristic is expressed by flies with mutations in this gene? Hint

A funny walk

The fly becomes sick as a parrot

The fly becomes pale in appearance

A longer than average lifespan

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Question 5 of 10

5. Drosophila that have a non-functioning version of this gene are characterized by the lack of a heart. This has led scientists to give this gene which nickname? Hint

Murdoch

Tinman

Jellyfish

Kanye

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Question 6 of 10

6. Drosophila which lack this next gene often display randomly positioned "strands" of axons. What name is given to this gene, which is important in neuronal functioning? Hint

Cheesestrings

Dreadlocks

Weeping willow

Medusa

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Question 7 of 10

7. Drosophila which lack this next gene have been shown to be very sensitive to ethanol, leaving them inebriated after the slightest drop. What imaginative name have fruit fly scientists come up with for this gene? Hint

Boozy beggar

Cheap date

Paris hilton

Last orders

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Question 8 of 10

8. The lack of a functional form of this gene in female Drosophila leads to the repression of decapentaplegic in her offspring, a protein required for correct tissue development. What is this gene known as? Hint

Women's scorn

Oppressive parent

Mothers against decapentaplegic

Peter pan

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Question 9 of 10

9. It is also common practice to name a set of related genes for a certain theme. For example, there is a set of Drosophila genes named after polar explorers who got lost. What do these genes control? Hint

The localisation of signals to the head and/or the tail

The amount of bristles on legs

Body temperature control

The ability to fly in straight lines

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Question 10 of 10

10. Drosophila which lack what has come to be called the 'ken and barbie' gene display a phenotype which makes it unlikely that the mutation will prevail in nature. What phenotype is this? Hint

They lack external genitalia

Their exoskeleton becomes rigid, like hardened plastic

They grow pink bristles

They do not eat and so die of starvation

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: A large amount of facial bristles

Groucho is named for Groucho Marx, as a fly which lacks this gene often displays large bristles of sensory 'hair' on its face, similar to the famous comedian. Groucho encodes a protein which functions as an important repressor of several other genes during development and adulthood.

2. A fruit fly which is defective in this gene is not itself in any danger, but when the fruit fly has the gene known as 'asp', its absence is often fatal. What name is given to this gene?

Answer: Cleopatra

This relationship refers to the legendary queen Cleopatra VII, who is said to have killed herself after allowing an asp to bite her bosom. All three of the other options also had fatal (or near fatal) encounters with serpents.
The fact that mutants which lack the cleopatra gene often die due to an interaction with the asp gene suggests that these two genes, when both functional, exert an effect on one another. This phenomenon is called 'epistasis'.

Answer: Strabismus

The lack of a strabismus gene may lead to poorly developed ommatidium, the structures which make up compound eyes in insects. Strabismus is also important in establishing cell polarity in Drosophila wings, ensuring that each hair points away from the body, rather than towards it.

4. The Indy gene in Drosophila is an acronym for "I'm not dead yet", a line taken from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". What characteristic is expressed by flies with mutations in this gene?

Answer: A longer than average lifespan

This line is spoken by a man who is taken to the cart of the Dead Collector in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Living in a village suffering from the plague, the Dead Collector is asked to "wait around" as the man won't be alive for much longer. Fruit flies with mutations in the Indy gene have been observed to live up to twice as long as those with fully functioning Indy genes.

5. Drosophila that have a non-functioning version of this gene are characterized by the lack of a heart. This has led scientists to give this gene which nickname?

Answer: Tinman

Tinman is expressed in mesoderm, the tissue which forms cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. This is in contrast to the ectoderm, which forms epithelia, and the endoderm, which forms the tissue of many internal organs.

6. Drosophila which lack this next gene often display randomly positioned "strands" of axons. What name is given to this gene, which is important in neuronal functioning?

Answer: Dreadlocks

The dreadlock gene product (commonly known as Dock) possesses an SH2 domain, which binds to phosphorylated tyrosines at an activated Receptor Tyrosine Kinase. Receptor Tyrosine Kinases can be activated and phosphorylated after binding chemical signals involved in axon guidance.

Answer: Cheap date

Like many organisms from bacteria to plants to human beings, fruit flies metabolise alcohol using the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase. This metalloenzyme converts ethanol into acetaldehydes, which are toxic and are responsible for many hangover symptoms.

Answer: Mothers against decapentaplegic

Decapentaplegic is an important protein in controlling tissue development in Drosophila. It is one of many regulatory proteins which form spatial concentration gradients in the embryo, which are set up by proteins coded for by a set of genes which includes bicoid, nanos, kruppel and hunchback.

Answer: The localisation of signals to the head and/or the tail

Daniel St Johnston, a Drosophila scientist, has explained that his area of research is in the localisation of signals which determine which part of the Drosophila embryo becomes the head and which end becomes the tail. Mutants which lack any of these genes will therefore be misguided in their attempts to get signals to the anterior pole or the posterior pole. An example he offers is the Frankel gene, named after the explorer who unsuccessfully attempted to reach the North Pole via hot air balloon.

10. Drosophila which lack what has come to be called the 'ken and barbie' gene display a phenotype which makes it unlikely that the mutation will prevail in nature. What phenotype is this?

Answer: They lack external genitalia

Since Drosophila which possess non-functioning ken and barbie genes lack external genitals, they are unable to breed naturally, and so will have no offspring to pass these non-functional genes onto. In addition to the lack of genitals, ken and barbie mutants also grow blonde bristles.

Source: Author doublemm

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
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