Abstract
The Drosophila embryonic ventral epidermis has served as a unique tissue for the genetic analysis of patterning. Two types of epidermal cells are easily distinguished: those that secrete short, thick hair-like structures called denticles and cells that only secrete smooth cuticle. Denticle-secreting cells form segmentally repeated belts. Within each belt, six types of denticles can be recognized according to size, shape, and orientation (types 1–6). They are arranged in a stereotypical manner within each denticle belt. This pattern results from the spatially organized activation of several signaling pathways during embryogenesis. Cuticle patterns therefore provide a sensitive readout of signaling activity and other patterning mechanisms. Here, I describe methods of preparation and analysis of cuticles from 1st instar larvae as well as from 3rd instar larvae. In addition, a protocol to simultaneously analyze cuticles and β-galactosidase activity of embryos expressing lacZ reporter genes is presented.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Martinez Arias, A. (1993) Development and patterning of the larval epidermis of Drosophila, in The Development of Drosophila melanogaster, (Bate, M. and Martinez Arias, A., eds.), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, pp. 517–608.
DiNardo, S., Heemskerk, J., Dougan, S., and O’Farrell, P. H. (1994) The making of a maggot: patterning the Drosophila embryonic epidermis. Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 4, 529–534.
Alexandre, C., Lecourtois, M., and Vincent, J. P. (1999) Wingless and Hedgehog pattern Drosophila denticle belts by regulating the production of short-range signals. Development 126, 5689–5698.
Gritzan, U., Hatini, V., and DiNardo, S. (1999) Mutual antagonism between signals secreted by adjacent wingless and engrailed cells leads to specification of complementary regions of the Drosophila parasegment. Development 126, 4107–4115.
Wieschaus, E. and Nusslein-Volhard, C. (1988) Looking at embryos, in Drosophila: A Practical Approach, (Roberts, D. B., ed.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 199–227.
Baker, N. E. (1988) Embryonic and imaginal requirements for wingless, a segment-polarity gene in Drosophila. Dev. Biol. 125, 96–108.
Lee, J. J., Von Kessler, D., Parks, S., and Beachy, P. A. (1992) Secretion and localized transcription suggest a role in positional signaling for products of the segmentation gene hedgehog. Cell 71, 33–50.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Alexandre, C. (2008). Cuticle Preparation of Drosophila Embryos and Larvae. In: Dahmann, C. (eds) Drosophila. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 420. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-583-1_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-583-1_11
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-817-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-583-1
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols