pdm3¹ mutants exhibit two prominent structural defects, the elongated ventral nerve cord in larvae and the central complex in the adult brain.

pdm3¹ mutants exhibit disorganisation of the ellipsoid body in the central complex. The fan-shaped body becomes loosely paced, while one or both noduli structures are frequently missing. Separation of glomeruli in antennal lobes is not as discrete as in wild-type, while axonal tracks targeted to the central complex are disarrayed.

The ellipsoid body is severely disorganised without recognisable concentric substructures in pdm3¹ brains. In a low percentage, the central canal remains open with a ventral cleft. The penetrance of ellipsoid phenotypes in pdm3¹ homozygotes and pdm3¹/Df(2R)Exel6058 transheterozygotes are almost identical.

R neuron numbers and projections appear the same in pdm3¹ mutants as in wild-type. The dendritic patterns of these R neurons in pdm3¹ mutants remain the same as in wild-type.

pdm3¹ mutants exhibit aberrant axonal projections in the ellipsoid body, with no recognisable patterns in the inner and outer regions of the deformed ellipsoid body.

pdm3¹; Scer\GAL4^pdm3, pdm3^{Scer\UAS.T:Avic\GFP-CFP}/Scer\GAL80^ts.αTub84B flies raised at 18[o]C (where Scer\GAL80^ts.αTub84B is active) throughout development fail to rescue ellipsoid body structure. In contrast, when the flies are cultured at 29[o]C throughout development, the ellipsoid body structure is fully rescued. Rescue also occurs when the flies are only shifted to 29[o]C for the first 48 hours after pupal formation. The ellipsoid body structure is not rescued when the flies are shifted to 29[o]C after 96 hours at 18[o]C.