microchaeta & sternite | female
neurBG02542 homozygous males have significantly decreased levels of aggression. (P < 0.05; Male aggression index = 11.35).
Homozygous flies show no significant change in the number of sternopleural bristles compared to controls.
Homozygous females show a significant reduction in the number of abdominal bristles compared to controls.
Mutant flies show a normal behavioural avoidance response to benzaldehyde in an olfactory assay.
Mutant males and females show a significant reduction in locomotor activity compared to controls.
The average number of aggressive encounters by males competing for a limited food supply after a period of food deprivation is not significantly different in neurBG02542 males and in controls.
Gross morphological defects are seen in some of the mushroom bodies of neurBG02542 flies, including shorter and thinner α-lobes and aberrant projections of the α-lobe. The ellipsoid bodies are often disorganised or show morphological defects, such as a ventral open defect. Detailed morphometric analysis reveals that there is a reduction in ellipsoid body surface in neurBG02542 flies compared to controls.
Mutants exhibit a quantitative gain of bristles.