The nur gene has been completely removed and replaced with an attP site and an eyeless promoter-DsRed flanked by LoxP.
Under standard conditions, nur2 homozygotes and nur2/nur3 transheterozygotes do not show consistent effects on sleep. nur2/nur3 transheterozygotes show increased mid-nighttime arousal by light stimuli (i.e. more individuals get aroused by a light pulse and then show higher speed of movements and higher sleep latency than controls) and by odor stimuli (i.e. more individuals get aroused by a concentrated 3-Octanol odor than controls). Following 6h of sleep deprivation during nighttime, transheterozygotes show delayed sleep recovery despite of no changes in overall sleep duration over the following 12h daytime period, as compared to heterozygous controls.
nur2 homozygotes infected with E. coli or S. marcescens show decreased infection-induced sleep, as compared to infected controls; they also show increased S. marcescens bacteria load, as compared to infected controls.