An α-1,3-fucosyltransferase influences thermal nocifensive escape behaviors in Drosophila larvae

When exposed to noxious thermal or mechanical stimuli, Drosophila melanogaster larvae will attempt to escape by performing a stereotypical nocifensive rolling behavior. Here, we report the identification of a mutation in Drosophila that specifically alters the thermal nocifensive escape behaviors of larvae. We provide genetic, molecular, and histological evidence that this mutation maps to the FucTA gene, which encodes an α-1,3-fucosyltransferase. Our results suggest that fucosylation is important for the thermal nociception rolling behavior of Drosophila larvae.