Data from: Haltere removal alters responses to gravity in standing flies

Animals detect the force of gravity with multiple sensory organs, from subcutaneous receptors at body joints to specialized sensors like the vertebrate inner ear. The halteres of flies, specialized mechanoreceptive organs derived from hindwings, are known to detect body rotations during flight, and some groups of flies also oscillate their halteres while walking. The dynamics of halteres are such that they could act as gravity detectors for flies standing on substrates, but their utility during non-flight behaviors is not known. We observed the behaviors of intact and haltere-ablated flies during walking and during perturbations in which the acceleration due to gravity suddenly changed. We found that intact halteres are necessary for flies to maintain normal walking speeds on vertical surfaces and to respond to sudden changes in gravity. Our results suggest that halteres can serve multiple sensory purposes during different behaviors, expanding their role beyond their canonical use in flight.动物可通过多种感官器官感知重力，涵盖身体关节处的皮下感受器，乃至脊椎动物内耳这类特化传感器。蝇类的平衡棒（halteres）是一类由后翅特化而来的机械感受器官，已知其可在飞行过程中感知身体旋转；部分蝇类类群在行走时同样会摆动其平衡棒。平衡棒的动力学特性表明，其可作为站立在基底上的蝇类的重力感受器，但此前学界尚未明确其在非飞行行为中的功能效用。本研究观测了完整蝇类与平衡棒切除（haltere-ablated）蝇类在行走以及重力加速度突然改变的扰动实验中的行为表现。研究结果显示，完整的平衡棒是蝇类在垂直表面维持正常行走速度、响应重力突然变化的必要条件。本研究结果表明，平衡棒可在不同行为中承担多种感官功能，拓展了其仅服务于飞行的经典功能范畴。