The classic eye‐color gene white (w) in Drosophila melanogaster (fruitfly) has unexpected behavioral consequences. How w affects locomotion of adult flies is largely unknown. Here, we show that a mutant allele (w¹¹¹⁸) selectively increases locomotor components at relatively high frequencies (> 0.1 Hz). The w¹¹¹⁸ flies had reduced transcripts of w⁺ from the 5′ end of the gene. Male flies of w¹¹¹⁸ walked continuously in circular arenas while the wildtype Canton‐S walked intermittently. Through careful control of genetic and cytoplasmic backgrounds, we found that the w¹¹¹⁸ locus was associated with continuous walking. w¹¹¹⁸‐carrying male flies showed increased median values of path length per second (PPS) and 5‐min path length compared with w⁺‐carrying males. Additionally, flies carrying 2–4 genomic copies of mini‐white⁺ (mw⁺) in the w¹¹¹⁸ background showed suppressed median PPSs and decreased 5‐min path length compared with controls, and the suppression was dependent on the copy number of mw⁺. Analysis of the time‐series (i.e., PPSs over time) by Fourier transform indicated that w¹¹¹⁸ was associated with increased locomotor components at relatively high frequencies (> 0.1 Hz). The addition of multiple genomic copies of mw⁺ (2–4 copies) suppressed the high‐frequency components. Lastly, the downregulation of w⁺ in neurons but not glial cells resulted in increased high‐frequency components. We concluded that mutation of w modified the locomotion in adult flies by selectively increasing high‐frequency locomotor components.

中文翻译：

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黑腹果蝇成虫白色基因对运动成分的频率特异性修饰

黑腹果蝇（果蝇）中经典的眼睛颜色基因白色（w）具有意想不到的行为后果。w如何影响成年苍蝇的运动在很大程度上是未知的。在这里，我们展示了一个突变等位基因 ( w ¹¹¹⁸ ) 在相对较高的频率 (> 0.1 Hz) 下选择性地增加运动成分。w ¹¹¹⁸果蝇从基因的 5' 端减少了w ⁺的转录物。w ¹¹¹⁸的雄性果蝇在圆形场地上连续行走，而野生型 Canton-S 则间歇性地行走。通过仔细控制遗传和细胞质背景，我们发现w¹¹¹⁸位点与连续行走有关。与携带w ⁺的雄性果蝇相比，携带w ¹¹¹⁸的雄性果蝇显示每秒路径长度 (PPS) 和 5 分钟路径长度的中值增加。此外，与对照组相比，在w ¹¹¹⁸背景中携带 2-4 个 mini- white ⁺ (m w ⁺ )基因组拷贝的果蝇显示出抑制中值 PPS 和缩短 5 分钟路径长度，并且抑制取决于 m 的拷贝数w ⁺。通过傅里叶变换分析时间序列（即 PPS 随时间变化）表明w ¹¹¹⁸与相对较高频率（> 0.1 Hz）的运动​​成分增加有关。添加 m w ⁺的多个基因组拷贝（2-4 个拷贝）抑制了高频成分。最后，神经元而非神经胶质细胞中w ⁺的下调导致高频成分增加。我们得出结论，w的突变通过选择性地增加高频运动成分来改变成年果蝇的运动。