Reed College

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Developmental Biology

A Cell-based Assay to Investigate Non-muscle Myosin II Contractility via the Folded-gastrulation Signaling Pathway in Drosophila S2R+ Cells

Kimberly A. Peters¹, Elizabeth Detmar¹, Liz Sepulveda², Corrina Del Valle², Ruth Valsquier², Anna Ritz², Stephen L. Rogers^1,3,4, Derek A. Applewhite²

¹Department of Biology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, ²Department of Biology, Reed College, ³Carolina Center for Genome Sciences, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, ⁴Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Here we describe a contractility assay using Drosophila S2R+ cells. The application of an exogenous ligand, folded gastrulation (Fog), leads to the activation of the Fog signaling pathway and cellular contractility. This assay can be used to investigate the regulation of cellular contractility proteins in the Fog signaling pathway.

Developmental Biology

Eye Removal in Living Zebrafish Larvae to Examine Innervation-dependent Growth and Development of the Visual System

Olivia L. Hagen¹, Yehyun Kim¹, Elaine Kushkowski^1,2, Hannah Rouse³, Kara L. Cerveny¹

¹Department of Biology, Reed College, ²Committee on Development, Regeneration, and Stem Cell Biology, University of Chicago, ³Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London

The article explains how to surgically remove eyes from living zebrafish larvae as the first step toward investigating how retinal input influences optic tectum growth and development. In addition, the article provides information about larval anesthetization, fixation, and brain dissection, followed by immunohistochemistry and confocal imaging.