Abstract: 【Aim】 Sleep in Drosophila melanogaster shows biological rhythm， and it can be controlled by different genes. In order to find the proper gene that affects sleep duration, we screened the genotypes of D. melanogaster associated with sleep duration. 【Methods】 The 7-day-old adults of the wild CS strain and the strains with gene deletion including 5601, 8904, 7061, 7146, 27327, 669, 8103, 691, 9697, 24416, 26525, 5411, 3096, 5877 and 7682 of D. melanogaster were used for screening. Drosophila Activity Monitoring System (DAMS) was used to record the total sleep duration within 24 h. The data obtained were compared among different strains. 【Results】 Compared with the wild CS strain, strain 5601 with deletion of gene fragment Df(3R)Espl3/TM6C had significantly shorter total sleep duration (P<0.001). 【Conclusion】 The gene fragment Df(3R)Espl3/TM6C is related to the sleep duration in D. melanogaster. This research provides data support for revealing the genes which are related to sleep in D. melanogaster and more clues to studying human sleep.

Key words: Drosophila melanogaster, biological rhythm, sleep, gene, mutants; Drosophila Activity Monitoring System (DAMS)