Figure 4.

Drosophila that are Homozygous or Heterozygous for the prickle mutation pk^sple1Are Predisposed to Seizures, and Seizures are Diminished by Treatment with Valproic Acid

(A) Seizure in a pk^sple1 fly. Photos of typical homozygous pk^sple1-seizing fly were captured every 0.5 s after the bang assay. All control flies have already climbed up the side of the vial for the time period presented. For a live side-by-side comparison of control and pk^sple1 flies, see Movies S5–S9.

(B) pk^sple1 homozygous flies and pk^sple1 heterozygous flies in the yw⁶⁷ (yw) background [pk^sple1/⁺ (yw)] have significantly impaired seizure recovery when they are compared to same-aged control yw⁶⁷ [+/+(yw)] flies. ^∗p < 0.001, ^∗∗p = 0.039.

(C) pk^sple1 homozygous and heterozygous flies have significantly impaired recovery off the bottom in comparison to same-aged control +/+(yw) flies. ^∗p < 0.001, ^∗∗p = 0.001.

(D) The addition of valproic acid to fly food significantly diminishes seizures in pk^sple1 heterozygotes [pk^sple1/+ (yw)] and returns climbing ability to that of control +/+(yw) flies. ^∗p < 0.001, ^∗∗p = 0.002, ^∗∗∗p = 0.001.

(E) The addition of valproic acid to fly food significantly recovers the ability of the flies to right themselves off the bottom of the vial and climb. ^∗p = 0.002, ^∗∗p = 0.010, ^∗∗∗p = 0.001, ^∗∗∗∗p = 0.005.

(F and G) pk^sple1 heterozygous flies are bang sensitive in multiple backgrounds. (F) pk^sple1 heterozygous flies in the Oregon-R (OR) background [sple1/+(OR)] have significantly impaired seizure recovery in comparison to same-aged wild-type Oregon-R [+/+ (OR)] flies. ^∗p = 0.007. (G) sple1/+(OR) heterozygous flies have significantly impaired recovery off bottom in comparison to same-aged wild-type +/+(OR) flies. ^∗p = 0.007. For all experiments, wild-type n = 60 and pk^sple1 n = 60. Error bars represent standard error of the mean; the data were statistically analyzed with the Chi-square test.