Figure 5.

Expression of the mini-white⁺ transgene in w¹¹¹⁸ mutants rescues the retinal degeneration phenotype. Histological microscopy sections of the retina from 30 days-old w⁺ flies from the Vallecas strain (A) and transgenic flies expressing mini-w⁺ in a w¹¹¹⁸ null genetic background (C) showed a w⁺-like organization as neither missing ommatidia nor rhabdomeres was observed (compare with w⁻ mutants, Figures 1F,G). (B,D) Images of the retina obtained by the method of optical neutralization of the cornea in w⁺ (B) and transgenic flies expressing mini-w⁺ (D), showing that the expression of mini-w⁺ in a w⁻ background rescues the phenotype. Scale bars represent 20 μm. (E) Graphical representation of the percentage of ommatidia with seven rhabdomeres in 30 days-old flies from w⁺ and mini-w⁺ strains showing that there are no significant differences in this parameter between both genotypes (w⁺ 30 d vs. mini-w⁺ 30 d, Mann–Whitney U-test, p >0.05).