Genome-wide approaches to understanding behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster

Understanding how an organism exhibits specific behaviours remains a major and important biological question. Studying behaviour in a simple model organism like the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has the advantages of advanced molecular genetics approaches along with well-defined anatomy and physiology. With advancements in functional genomic technologies, researchers are now attempting to uncover genes and pathways involved in complex behaviours on a genome-wide scale. A systems-level network approach, which will include genomic approaches, to study behaviour will be key to understanding the regulation and modulation of behaviours and the importance of context in regulating them.