Fig. 4

Phenotypes produced by various Aβ peptides in the Drosophila eye. a Panels show SEM images from fly eyes with the indicated genotypes. Control flies expressing LacZ alone show highly organized eyes with hexagonal lenses. The expression of extracellular Aβ40 WT, E22G, S26C, and E22Q mutants showed slightly more disorganized ommatidia with no change in size or structure. The expression of extracellular Aβ42 WT results in small eyes with severe ommatidial disorganization and fusion. Aβ42 E22G, S26C, and E22Q mutants showed higher disorganization with the presence of fusion in ommatidia and sporadic necrotic points. b Box-whisker graph representing the phenotypical scores provided by Flynotyper software of flies expressing Aβ40 or c Aβ42 WT and mutant lines. Data shows median, quartiles, and mean percentage of SEM images. A higher phenotypic score indicates an increase in disorganization of the ommatidial arrangement, which correlates with an increase in severity of the eye phenotype. p values obtained from comparing GMR > Aβ42 WT and mutants to GMR > LacZ. ANOVA, **p < 0.001, ***p < 0.0001