Abstract
The Drosophila visual system is an excellent model system to study the switch from proliferating to differentiating neural stem cells. In the developing larval optic lobe, symmetrically dividing neuroepithelial cells transform to asymmetrically dividing neuroblasts in a highly ordered and sequential manner. This chapter presents a protocol to visualize neural stem cell types in the Drosophila optic lobe by fluorescence confocal microscopy. A main focus is given on how to dissect, fix, immunolabel, and mount brains to reveal cellular morphology during early larval brain development.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Mike Bate for his advice on how to dissect brains of 1st and 2nd instar larvae. B.P. and B.E. are funded by the Swiss University Conference (SUK/CUS) Project P-01 Bio-BEFRI.
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Perruchoud, B., Egger, B. (2014). Immunofluorescent Labeling of Neural Stem Cells in the Drosophila Optic Lobe. In: Sprecher, S. (eds) Brain Development. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1082. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-655-9_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-655-9_5
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Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
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