Mechanical and Temperature Stressor–Induced Seizure-and-Paralysis Behaviors in Drosophila Bang-Sensitive Mutants

Abstract

“Bang-sensitive” mutants of Drosophila display characteristic repertoires of distinct seizure-and-paralysis behaviors upon mechanical shock (Ganetzky & Wu, 1982, Genetics, 100, 597–614). The authors found that each of the bang-sensitive mutants described in this paper (bas, bss, eas, and tko) also displayed similar behavioral repertoires upon exposure to either high or low temperature. These repertoires are composed of interspersed periods of seizure and paralysis, and appear to have interesting parallels with vertebrate epileptiform behavior. Analysis of gynandromorph mosaics of these bang-sensitive mutant flies indicated that anatomical foci required for these two types of behaviors do not totally overlap, as they were separable among mosaic flies. Observations on mosaic and decapitated flies demonstrated an all-or-none expression of the seizure-and-paralysis behaviors, indicating global activity and long-range interactions in the nervous system. Therefore, the diverse collection of currently available Drosophila bang-sensitive mutants may serve as a rich source for mutational and cellular analysis to identify interacting molecular networks that are responsible for seizure phenotypes.

Keywords::

• behavioral foci
• epilepsy
• gynandromorphy
• mosaic

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Dr. Atsushi Ueda for participation in replicating the observations of decapitated bang-sensitive flies described in this paper and his assistance in the construction of Table 1. We also thank Drs. M. A. Howard III and M.-m. Poo for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This work was in part supported by NIH grants NS18500 and GM 088804 and an NIH predoctoral training grant (GM07091; to M.G.B.).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.