Figure 4. Box and density plots comparisons among WT and partially rescued Vacht mutants across time points during aging.

(A, top) Boxplots of WT, Vacht¹-Res, Vacht²-Res, and Vacht⁸-Res reinforce differences in locomotion speed profiles. Vacht¹-Res, the most severe allele, shows a consistent and more uniform low speed profile regardless of age while Vacht⁸-Res shows a more variable profile; increased average speed until week 4 then a decrease is observed. (A, bottom) Density plots of WT and all partially rescued Vacht mutants are compared each week throughout the duration of the study. Skewed distributions indicate speed profiles that are more uniform while wider distributions indicate more dispersion. Additionally, high points, or peaks, on the density plots represent speeds where data is more concentrated. A bimodal distribution has two peaks instead of one. Density plots complements observations in A. At week 0 both Vacht¹ and Vacht⁸ partial rescues have a high density of flies at low speed compared to WT. Vacht⁸-res, however, shows an additional underrepresented, but distinct, peak at a higher speed. By weeks 1 and 2, a clear distinction has emerged between Vacht¹-Res on one hand and Vacht²-Res, Vacht⁸-Res, and WT on the other hand. Notably at week 2, the shape of the density curve of Vacht²-Res and WT are quite similar; Vacht⁸-Res by contrast is distinct exhibiting both a shift in the peak toward a higher speed and a broader area representing a wide range of locomotion speed. At week 3, with the exception of Vacht⁸-Res, all density plots are skewed toward low speeds. At week 4, however, the density profile of Vacht⁸-Res becomes identical to WT and other partially rescued Vacht mutants. (B) Boxplots showing the Center/Center+Periphery for each genotype for wk0 through wk4. Statistical analyses were performed using ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey multiple comparisons. n.s. p≥0.05; *10⁻⁵<p<0.05; ** p≤10⁻⁵. The data are a representation of four independent experiments; N≥4 per group.