fruit fly
noun
: any of various small dipteran flies (such as a drosophila) whose larvae feed on fruit or decaying vegetable matter
Examples of fruit fly in a Sentence
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For example, in fruit flies, defects in metabolic enzymes in a subset of tissues can trigger a stress response that halts the growth and development (opens a new tab) of the entire animal.
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Viviane Callier, Quanta Magazine, 21 Mar. 2025
Macquarie University The scientists genetically modified zebrafish (aka zebra danios) and fruit flies by inserting variants of genes from E. coli bacteria into the animals' DNA.
—Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 13 Feb. 2025
Genetic research on plants, fruit flies, livestock and humans revealed more and more about how chromosomes and genes worked.
—Arthur Caplan, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2024
From 1989 until the mid-2000s, Indian mangoes were officially barred from the United States due to American officials’ concerns that pests like fruit flies could threaten U.S. agriculture.
—Ronak D. Desai, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
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Viviane Callier, Quanta Magazine, 21 Mar. 2025
Macquarie University The scientists genetically modified zebrafish (aka zebra danios) and fruit flies by inserting variants of genes from E. coli bacteria into the animals' DNA.
—Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 13 Feb. 2025
Genetic research on plants, fruit flies, livestock and humans revealed more and more about how chromosomes and genes worked.
—Arthur Caplan, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2024
From 1989 until the mid-2000s, Indian mangoes were officially barred from the United States due to American officials’ concerns that pests like fruit flies could threaten U.S. agriculture.
—Ronak D. Desai, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fruit fly
Cite this Entry
“Fruit fly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fruit%20fly. Accessed 12 Apr. 2025.
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