Multifaceted and extensive behavioral trajectories of genomically diverse Drosophila lines

Detailed tracking data is essential to understanding the intricate mechanisms behind animal behavior. Here, we present a comprehensive dataset containing behavioral movies and trajectories from over 30,000 Drosophila melanogaster individuals across 105 genetically distinct strains, including 104 wild-type strains from the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel, along with one visually impaired mutant. These data, categorized by genetic background, sex, and social context (isolated or in groups), were collected during 15-minute sessions that included five minutes of repeated looming stimuli to elicit fear responses. Additionally, our experimental design incorporated group experiments with randomly combined pairs of strains to investigate synergistic effects of group members on behavioral dynamics. Beyond enabling detailed analyses of genetic factors underlying locomotion, fear responses, and social interactions, this dataset provides a unique opportunity to examine individual behavioral variability within genetically identical flies. By capturing a broad spectrum of behaviors across different genetic and environmental contexts, these data serve as a valuable resource for advancing our understanding of how genetics, individuality, and group interactions shape animal behavior.

Methods
Flies’ behavior in an experimental arena was observed and video-recorded for 15 minutes, during which a looming stimulus was introduced in the middle for 5 minutes. Behavioral tracking was primarily performed by the Tracktor software (Sridhar et al. 2019, MEE), followed by our custom Python script.