Abstract
Accurate measurement of Drosophila feeding is vital for metabolic and aging studies, but current assays lack the throughput and sensitivity needed for large-scale screens. We introduce FlyPlate-BCA, a 96-well platform that combines automated single-fly tracking with BCA protein quantification for high-resolution, longitudinal intake measurements. FlyPlate-BCA detects a 0.1× nutrient dilution with 90% power using just four replicates, three times fewer than the capillary feeder (CAFE) assay. It uncovers sucrose-driven hyperphagia independent of osmotic stress and preserved lipid-satiety responses, while extended monitoring reveals a female-specific metabolic adaptation. By delivering individual-level data at scale, FlyPlate-BCA establishes a benchmark for nutritional genomics and appetite neurobiology and streamlines nutraceutical and genetic screening.