Expression of Dcp-1^{ΔN.Scer\UAS.P\T} under the control of Scer\GAL4^{nos.UTR.T:Hsim\VP16} results in an increase in the percentage of autolysosomes in both non-degenerating and degenerating midstage egg chambers even in the absence of starvation.

In contrast to wild type, the ovaries of well-fed flies expressing Dcp-1^{ΔN.Scer\UAS.P\T} under the control of two copies of Scer\GAL4^{nos.UTR.T:Hsim\VP16} contain a large number of degenerating stage 8 egg chambers.

Adult females carrying one copy of P{UASp-Dcp-1.ΔN} with P{GAL4::VP16-nos.UTR} are fertile. Most egg chambers in these flies are normal when these files are kept at 25^oC, but numbers of degenerating egg chambers increase if the temperature is raised to 29^oC. The presence of an additional copy of P{UASp-Dcp-1.ΔN} results in sterility and ovaries completely devoid of defined egg chambers. Flies raised at 25^oC and carrying one copy of P{UASp-Dcp-1.ΔN} and two copies of P{GAL4::VP16-nos.UTR} are sterile and have an intermediate phenotype, with most egg chambers degenerating between stages 8 and 10 of oogenesis. Typical signs of apoptosis are seen in the nurse cells at these stages, including positive tunnel staining and condensation/fragmentation of nuclei. Prior to degeneration these egg chambers often have extra nurse cells. Degeneration of nurse cells differs from that seen at later stages in wild-type egg chambers: it is not accompanied by extensive dumping of nurse cell cytoplasm into the oocyte or by rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton. The actin cytoskeleton instead degenerates in the nurse cells during these stages. In contrast follicle cells in these egg chambers survive and synthesise chorion.