Homozygous embryos (lacking zygotic ed function) show no obvious tracheal defects.

Eggs produced by females bearing ed^lF20 mutant follicle clones show groups of eggshell imprints with a smooth border. The smooth borders occur between the mutant follicle cells and adjacent heterozygous or homozygous wild-type cells, but the borders of mutant cells within clones appear normal. The smooth clone border phenotype is only observed at the apical side of the epithelium, while the basal aspect of the clone displays no obvious phenotype. The apical clone circumference is markedly reduced relative to the basal circumference, consistent with the presence of a contractile actin cable. Adherens junctions are destabilized at the border of the mutant clones.

The smooth clone border phenotype is completely penetrant in early stage egg chambers with ed^lF20 clones. During stage 10, the border appears wild type, consistent with a disappearance in ed expression in wild-type cells at this stage. By stage 11 the phenotype reappears and persists for the rest of oogenesis.

ed^lF20 embryos from ed^lF20 germline clones (lacking both maternal and zygotic contributions of ed) exhibit defective dorsal closure. These embryos exhibit apparent irregularities in the progression of the leading edge during dorsal closure. The actomyosin cable that forms during dorsal stages in wild-type embryos fails to assemble in ed^lF20 embryos and the dorsal epidermis appears to buckle towards the amnioserosa in ed^lF20 embryos, suggesting that a lack of tension prevents the formation of a taut interface with the amnioserosa. The dorsal movement of the lateral epidermis is delayed compared with wild-type embryos, and discontinuities and puckering at the dorsal midline and misalignment of opposing segments are ultimately observed.

The number of macrochaetae/heminotum in ed^slH8/ed^lF20 mutants is - anterior+posterior notopleural: 2.04, presutural: 1.19, anterior supraalar: 1.07, posterior supraalar: 1.06, anterior postalar: 1.87, posterior postalar: 2.09, anterior+posterior dorsocentral: 2.54 and anterior+posterior scutellar: 3.24. 80% of ed^lF20 embryos derived from females carrying homozygous germline clones have ventral holes in the cuticle, while the remaining 20% show fusion of ventral denticle belts.