Figure 2.

Climbing defects and loss of dopaminergic neurons in comatose mutants. (A) Climbing index for controls and comt mutants after shifting to 29°. Climbing index is assessed as the percentage of flies able to climb at least 8 cm within 20 sec. (B) Diagram of the Drosophila adult brain, with major posterior clusters of dopaminergic neurons labeled. Protocerebral posterial lateral 1 (PPL1) clusters are outlined. (C–F) PPL1 clusters of dopaminergic neurons in both control (C and D) and comt^ST53 (E and F) brains both before or after shifting to 29°. Dopaminergic neurons are stained with anti-tyrosine hydroxylase. Bar in F, 10 μm. (G) Average number of dopaminergic neurons in each PPL1 cluster in control and comt brains. (*P < 0.01 and **P < 0.001, Student’s t-test with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.)