Developing electroporation as a method to obtain Stable Transformation in Drosophila melanogaster

In this project I have tried to obtain stable transformants of Drosophila melanogaster flies using electroporation. I have completed approximately 200 tests using different DNA concentrations, voltages and cuvettes, including a novel Petri dish cuvette which I developed and manufactured myself. I also developed new and more efficient procedures of egg collection and egg dechorionation. Although I was not successful in obtaining true stable transformants, control experiments indicate that electroporation of DNA into embryos could be accomplished under the conditions used. The lack of stable transformants was probably due to failure of the electroporated DNA to integrate into the host genome. The reasons for why the DNA did not integrate was not further investigated in this study