Skip to main content

Preparation of Drosophila Tissues and Organs for Transmission Electron Microscopy

  • Protocol
  • First Online:
Drosophila

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2540))

Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is the method of choice to image the ultrastructure of cells or tissues. TEM allows the visualization of molecular complexes up to an atomic resolution. Thus, TEM data have led to important conclusions about cellular processes and supported findings obtained by functional analyses. In this chapter, we describe the preparation of Drosophila tissues for TEM and provide reliable step-by-step protocols for applying classical chemical fixation or high-pressure freezing–freeze substitution (HPF–FS) to preserve cellular structures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Protocol
USD 49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hurd TR, Sanchez CG, Teixeira FK, Petzold C, Dancel-Manning K, Wang JY, Lehmann R, Liang FX (2015) Ultrastructural analysis of drosophila ovaries by electron microscopy. Methods Mol Biol 1328:151–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2851-4_11

  2. Suvarna SK, Layton C, Bancroft JD (2019) Bancroft’s theory and practice of histological techniques, 8th edn. Elsevier

    Google Scholar 

  3. Darley JJ, Ezoe H (1976) Potential hazards of uranium and its compounds in electron microscopy: a brief review. J Microsc 106:85–96

    Google Scholar 

  4. Tepass U, Hartenstein V (1994) Epithelium formation in the Drosophila midgut depends on the interaction of endoderm and mesoderm. Development 120:579–590

    Google Scholar 

  5. McDonald KL, Sharp DJ, Rickoll W (2000) Preparation of thin sections of Drosophila for examination by transmission electron microscopy. In: Sullivan W, Ashburner M, Hawley RS (eds) Drosophila protocols. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, pp 245–271

    Google Scholar 

  6. Zhang S, Chen EH (2008) Ultrastructural analysis of myoblast fusion in Drosophila. Methods Mol Biol 475:275–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-250-2_16

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Lehmacher C, Abeln B, Paululat A (2012) The ultrastructure of Drosophila heart cells. Arthropod Struct Dev 41:459–474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2012.02.002

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. McDonald KL, Sharp DJ, Rickoll W (2012) Transmission electron microscopy of thin sections of Drosophila: conventional chemical fixation of embryos using trialdehyde. Cold Spring Harb Protoc 7:516–520. https://doi.org/10.1101/pdb.prot068411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. McDonald KL, Sharp DJ, Rickoll W (2012) Transmission electron microscopy of thin sections of Drosophila: high-pressure freezing and freeze-substitution. Cold Spring Harb Protoc 7:510–515. https://doi.org/10.1101/pdb.prot068403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. McDonald KL, Sharp DJ, Rickoll W (2012) Transmission electron microscopy of thin sections of Drosophila: preparation of embryos using n-heptane and glutaraldehyde. Cold Spring Harb Protoc 7:1100–1103. https://doi.org/10.1101/pdb.prot068460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Wang S, Meyer H, Ochoa-Espinosa A, Buchwald U, Onel S, Altenhein B, Heinisch JJ, Affolter M, Paululat A (2012) GBF1 (Gartenzwerg)-dependent secretion is required for Drosophila tubulogenesis. J Cell Sci 125:461–472. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.092551

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Psathaki OE, Dehnen L, Hartley PS, Paululat A (2018) Drosophila pericardial nephrocyte ultrastructure changes during ageing. Mech Ageing Dev 173:9–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2018.04.006

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Beyenbach KW, Schöne F, Breitsprecher LF, Tiburcy F, Furuse M, Izumi Y, Meyer H, Jonusaite S, Rodan AR, Paululat A (2020) The septate junction protein Tetraspanin 2A is critical to the structure and function of Malpighian tubules in Drosophila melanogaster. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 318:C1107–C1122. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.00061.2020

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Dehnen L, Janz M, Kumar Vermar J, Psathaki OE, Langemeyer L, Fröhlich F, Heinisch JJ, Meyer H, Ungermann C, Paululat A (2020) A trimeric metazoan Rab7 GEF complex is crucial for endocytosis and scavenger function. J Cell Sci 133:jcs247080. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.247080

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Gerlitz O, Nellen D, Ottiger M, Basler K (2002) A screen for genes expressed in Drosophila imaginal discs. Int J Dev Biol 46:173–176

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Wolff T (2011) Preparation of Drosophila eye specimens for transmission electron microscopy. Cold Spring Harb Protoc 2011:1386–1388. https://doi.org/10.1101/pdb.prot066514

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Moor H, Riehle U (1968) Snap-freezing under high pressure: a new fixation technique for freeze-etching. Proc 4th Eur Reg Conf Electron Microsc 2:33–34

    Google Scholar 

  18. McDonald KL, Auer M (2006) High-pressure freezing, cellular tomography, and structural cell biology. BioTechniques 41:137–143. https://doi.org/10.2144/000112226

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Small JV (1981) Organization of actin in the leading edge of cultured cells: influence of osmium tetroxide and dehydration on the ultrastructure of actin meshworks. J Cell Biol 91:695–705. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.91.3.695

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. McDonald KL (1994) Electron microscopy and EM immunocytochemistry. Method Cell Biol 44:411–444. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0091-679x(08)60926-7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Kerstin Etzold, Birgit Hemmis, Mechthild Krabusch, Martina Biedermann, and Werner Mangerich for expert technical assistance. Furthermore, we thank Christian Meyer and Jonas Olbrich for sharing their TEM expertise with us. This work was supported by grants from the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) to A.P. (PA517/13-1, PA517/15-1, PA517/16-1, SFB 944-TP7, SFB 944 Z-Project). Our TEM protocols were initially compiled from Tepass and Hartenstein (1994); McDonald, Sharp, and Rickoll (2000); Lehmacher (2009, 2012), and many other authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Achim Paululat .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this protocol

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this protocol

Psathaki, OE., Paululat, A. (2022). Preparation of Drosophila Tissues and Organs for Transmission Electron Microscopy. In: Dahmann, C. (eds) Drosophila. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2540. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2541-5_19

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2541-5_19

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-2540-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-2541-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics