While found in association with these other species, D. melanogaster colonizes the rotting fruits at a particular time during the decay trajectory. First to arrive is D. simulans, followed by D. melanogaster, and then the other species (Nunney, 1990, 1996): this is consistent with D. melanogaster having a higher ethanol tolerance than its relative D. simulans (McKenzie and Parsons 1972, 1974), which arrives earlier, when fewer volatiles have been produced by fermentation.

The number of investigators using D. melanogaster as a model for studying human disease is steadily rising (Pfleger and Reiter, 2008), especially for more complex disorders, such as heart disease (Piazza and Wessells, 2011), mental and neurological illness (Pandey and Nichols, 2011), and obesity

Our finding of different expression levels of toxins in different developmental stages and adult tissues strongly suggests that venom composition changes across development and that each arsenal of toxins might have been shaped by selection for different biotic interactions. As Nematostella develops from a non-predatory, swimming larva to an adult sessile predatory polyp that is 150-fold larger than the larva (Figure 1A), its interspecific interactions vastly change across development.

The results of the experiments showed that Nematostella mothers pass on a toxin to their eggs that makes them unpalatable to predators.