Drosophila gene expression in response to the botanical insecticide Piper nigrum

This experiment was used to determine the effect of a botanical insecticide upon gene expression profiles in Drosophila melanogaster. Adult female Drosophila (oregon-R strain) were treated with an ethylacetate extract of Piper nigrum (Piperaceae) seeds formulated in 99% ethanol. Treatment was topical, using a Potter's tower to administer a total of 2 mL of a 0.9mg/mL concentration. Control treatment was identical except flies were treated with 99% ethanol as a solvent control. Gene expression was studied four hours post-treatment. Keywords: insecticide response, stress-response The design is a direct comparison between total RNA of treated and untreated insects. Sample size is two and two reverse label hybridizations were done. Each sample is a pool of 240 insects which received the same treatment simultaneously.