Malvolio (Mvl) is the Drosophila ortholog of the mammalian Solute Carrier Protein Slc11a2, which transports divalent metals, including iron. The function of Mvl in the developing Drosophila brain is unclear and the developmental anomalies of the brain in Mvl mutants have not been investigated. Our objective was to determine potential physiological defects in the brain of Mvl mutants. We tested iron availability in the brain of Mvl loss-of function mutant, Mvlexc1. We used the Ferritin 1 HCH GFP protein trap fly line as the control. Ferritin 1 HCH GFP intensity was used as the marker of iron availability for comparison between the mutants and controls. We confirmed that the loss of Mvl results in a lack of iron storage in the midgut iron cells. Brain tissue from both the control and mutant animals were dissected and the Ferritin GFP levels at both the larval and adult stages were recorded. Contrary to our expectation, we observed differential and sharply contrasting regions of Ferritin expression in the Mvl mutant brains compared to controls. The optic lobes expressed high levels of Ferritin in the Mvl mutants compared to the central brain lobe in a pattern that persisted during both larval and adult stages. We are currently investigating whether the high Ferritin level in the mutant brain is a result of increased Ferritin expression in the neuron, Glia, or both. Additionally, we investigated the significance of regions marked by contrasting levels of signal in the mutant Vs. control brains. The finding that Mvl mutant brain tissue has higher Ferritin expression compared to the control suggests one or more of the following scenarios: (i) Despite the loss of Mvl, brain tissue can access iron, via non-Mvl dependent cellular iron uptake, and/or (ii) Ferritin expression in brain tissue is uncoupled from cellular iron availability.