Histological assessment of developmental cell death in Drosophila pupae

Panagiotis D Velentzas; Eric H Baehrecke

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100473

Histological assessment of developmental cell death in Drosophila pupae

STAR Protoc. 2021 Apr 20;2(2):100473. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100473. eCollection 2021 Jun 18.

Authors

Panagiotis D Velentzas¹, Eric H Baehrecke¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.

Abstract

This protocol describes the embedding and processing of Drosophila pupae in paraffin to monitor tissue changes during development. Although multiple methods are available to evaluate developmental changes in Drosophila embryos, imaging detailed changes during metamorphosis is challenging as the animal is enclosed in the cuticle, rendering it inaccessible to whole mount imaging. Here, we present a protocol that focuses on developmental clearance of the larval salivary glands in Drosophila pupae that can be extended to examine other tissues/stages for similar purposes. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Velentzas et al. (2018).

Keywords: Cell Biology; Developmental biology; Microscopy; Model Organisms.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Animals
Cell Death / physiology*
Drosophila / embryology*
Female
Histological Techniques / methods*
Larva / cytology
Male
Pupa / cytology*
Salivary Glands / cytology

Grant support

R01 AG064892/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States