Bang senseless (bss) is a gene identified in Drosophila melanogaster that is known to yield seizure-like activity in mutant phenotypes.[1]
Contents |
Bang senseless has been localized to 1-54, left of forked (f) and right of scalloped (sd).[1]
Seizures can be induced by mechanical shock, electrical shock, or high-frequency visual stimuli such as strobe light. Mechanical shock can be achieved by vortexing bang senseless mutants in a small vial for ~10 seconds on a VWR vortex set to its maximum setting.[2]
Aside from the wild-type allele, two mutant alleles have been identified: bss1 & bss2.
The bss1 mutants typically recover from seizure after 100-400 seconds.[2]
Less is known about the bss2 allele, but it is known that it is also a paralytic mutant (prone to seizure-like activity).[3]