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

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