Analytical Chem JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Visualization of Proprioceptors in Drosophila Larvae and Pupae

Name: Visualization of Proprioceptors in Drosophila Larvae and Pupae
Uploaded: 2026-06-17
Duration: 9 min 51 s
Description: Proprioception is the ability to sense the motion, or position, of body parts by responding to stimuli arising within the body. In fruitflies and other ...

DOI: 10.3791/3846-v

What you'll learn

✓ Dissect and fix Drosophila larvae and pupae for immunostaining
✓ Perform immunostaining to visualize chordotonal organs
✓ Mount and image proprioceptor tissue using confocal microscopy

Protocol

A method to immunostain and visualize chordotonal organs in larvae and pupae of Drosophila melanogaster is described.

Difficulty

intermediate

Total time

~4–6 hours (dissection through imaging per cohort)

Model organism

Drosophila melanogaster

Biosafety

BSL-1

Steps

Dissect and fix third instar larvae

Remove third instar larvae from culture medium, dissect to expose nervous tissue, and fix in appropriate fixative solution to preserve chordotonal organ morphology.

▶ 01:02

Dissect and fix pupae

Extract pupae from substrate, perform careful dissection to access proprioceptor-containing tissues, and apply fixation protocol optimized for pupal developmental stage.

▶ 03:22

Mount immunostained larvae and pupae

Arrange fixed, antibody-labeled tissue on microscope slides and apply mounting medium appropriate for fluorescence imaging.

▶ 06:43

Image and analyze chordotonal organ visualization

Acquire confocal or epifluorescence micrographs of labeled proprioceptor organs and examine morphological features across developmental stages.

▶ 07:52

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