Drosophila as a model for epilepsy: bss is a gain-of-function mutation in the para sodium channel gene that leads to seizures.

Abstract excerpt

We report the identification of bang senseless (bss), a Drosophila melanogaster mutant exhibiting seizure-like behaviors, as an allele of the paralytic (para) voltage-gated Na(+) (Na(V)) channel gene. Mutants are more prone to seizure episodes than normal flies because of a lowered seizure threshold. The bss phenotypes are due to a missense mutation in a segment previously implicated in inactivation, termed the...

Topics

• Amino Acid Sequence
• Animals
• Disease Models, Animal
• Drosophila
• Electrophysiological Phenomena
• Epilepsy
• Gene Expression Regulation
• Genotype
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Mutation, Missense
• Phenotype
• Seizures
• Sequence Alignment
• Sodium Channels