FlyBase curator comment: this entry is used to capture phenotypic information when the particular allele (or allele combination) used by the author could not be determined but the context of the experiment suggests that the phenotype being described is some kind of loss of function.
The visceral mesoderm does not develop in mutant embryos but endodermal cell fates are determined.
Homozygous embryos are partially dorsalised. The ventral furrow is missing and embryos are twisted or coiled in the egg case, often with the posterior side up. No maternal effect is seen in germ line chimeras. Heterozygous embryos have delayed ventral furrow formation.
