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High-throughput Ethomics |
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This technique combines video imaging, computer programming, and genetics to study the behavior of organisms. Janelia Farm fellow Kristin Branson uses the method to uncover links between fruit flies’ behaviors and their genotypes. She and her colleagues start by scanning video footage of fruit flies for “behavior identifiers,” such as average speed or time spent in a certain part of the environment. Each of these identifiers is linked to a mathematically describable pixel pattern in the video. Branson then creates programs that allow computers to pick out the behaviors in videos of flies with different genotypes. She is also developing algorithms to automatically discover new behavioral phenotypes and statistics.
Each week, Branson collects 400 16-minute videos of 10 male and 10 female flies exploring an empty arena. Her automatic analysis software tracks the flies' positions and computes a summary of behavioral statistics. Kristin Branson / Janelia Farm Research Campus The results of applying 10 automatic fly behavior classifiers to a video of flies. A triangle to indicates the selected fly’s tracked position, and a line indicates its trajectory. Below the frame, each of the 10 behavior classifiers' current predictions are plotted in gray while the raw outputs of the classifier are show in color. Kristin Branson / Janelia Farm Research Campus |
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