Genetic variability affects absolute and relative potencies and kinetics of the anesthetics isoflurane and sevoflurane in Drosophila melanogaster.

Genetic variability affects the response to numerous xenobiotics but its role in the clinically-observed irregular responses to general anesthetics remains uncertain. To investigate the pharmacogenetics of volatile general anesthetics (VGAs), we developed a Serial Anesthesia Array apparatus to expose multiple Drosophila melanogaster samples to VGAs and behavioral assays to determine pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of VGAs. We studied the VGAs isoflurane and sevoflurane in four wild type strains from the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel, two commonly used laboratory strains (Canton S and w