Abstract
Detection of nucleic acids in whole tissues has become key in our understanding of gene expression during development. In situ hybridization (ISH) has been an invaluable technique in the making of numerous discoveries. Most recently, the technical advance of using short, fluorescently labeled probes has allowed for the detection of single-mRNA molecules. Thus, quantification of RNA levels in single cells or even within subcellular regions is now possible without RNA isolation. In combination with the immunofluorescence (IF) technique, visualization of nucleic acids and associating proteins is achieved with higher resolution than ever before using light microscopy. Here we describe the steps implemented to achieve the visualization of individual messenger RNAs (mRNA) using single-molecule FISH (smFISH) probes, as well as detection of mRNA/protein (mRNP) complexes via smFISH in combination with IF.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the members of the Bratu lab for constructive criticism during the preparation of this manuscript. LVB, SKF and DPB were supported by NSF CAREER award to DPB. The Gurken 1D12 antibody, developed at the California Institute of Technology, was obtained from the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank, created by the NICHD of the NIH and maintained at The University of Iowa, Department of Biology, Iowa City, IA.
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Bayer, L.V., Batish, M., Formel, S.K., Bratu, D.P. (2015). Single-Molecule RNA In Situ Hybridization (smFISH) and Immunofluorescence (IF) in the Drosophila Egg Chamber. In: Bratu, D., McNeil, G. (eds) Drosophila Oogenesis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1328. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2851-4_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2851-4_9
Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
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