Transcriptome of whole antennae of control and programmed cell death (PCD)-blocked Drosophila.

Here, we tested the possibility that Drosophila peripheral olfactory system cells fated to die might represent a reservoir of potential neurons. Inhibition of PCD is sufficient to generate many new cells in the antenna that express neural markers. Transcriptomic and in situ analyses reveal that these “undead” neurons express a subset of olfactory receptor genes, including some normally only expressed in other sensory organs. Two groups of flies: control (peb-Gal4/+;Or49a-GFP/+) and PCD-blocked (peb-Gal4/+;Or49a-GFP/UAS-p35) with three biological replicates per group; each replicate consisting of antennae from approximately 350 animals; paired design.