To investigate whether dLmo might play a role in ethanolinduced sedation, the LOR assay was used to test control flies and 2 dLmo mutants: BxJ, with increased levels of dLmo, and EP1306, with reduced dLmo (Tsai et al., 2004). When exposed to ethanol, EP1306 mutant flies sedated more quickly, showing a significantly reduced ST50 (time to 50% sedation) of 12.1 minutes compared with 17.1 minutes for the w;iso control flies. BxJ flies, by contrast, exhibited increased resistance to sedation, with an ST50 of 19.8 minutes (Fig. 1A,B). Ethanol absorption was not altered in the mutants (Fig. 1C). Thus, dLmo negatively regulates the flies’ sensitivity to ethanol-induced sedation, and this regulation is bidirectional.
