Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston

3 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

JoVE Journal

Local and Global Methods of Assessing Thermal Nociception in Drosophila Larvae

Abanti Chattopadhyay^*1, A'Tondra V. Gilstrap^*1,2, Michael J. Galko^1,3,4

¹Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, ²Scholars Academy/MARC Scholar, University of Houston-Downtown, ³Genes and Development Graduate Program, University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, ⁴Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

In this article, we demonstrate assays to study thermal nociception in Drosophila larvae. One assay involves spatially-restricted (local) stimulation of thermal nociceptors^1,2 while the second involves a wholesale (global) activation of most or all such neurons³. Together, these techniques allow visualization and quantification of the behavioral functions of Drosophila nociceptive sensory neurons.

Neuroscience

Novel Assay for Cold Nociception in Drosophila Larvae

Heather N. Turner^1,2,5, Christian Landry³, Michael J. Galko^1,2,4

¹Department of Genetics, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, ²Neuroscience Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, ³ProDev Engineering, ⁴Genes and Development Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, ⁵Section of Neurobiology, University of Southern California

Here we demonstrate a novel assay to study cold nociception in Drosophila larvae. This assay utilizes a custom-built Peltier probe capable of applying a focal noxious cold stimulus and results in quantifiable cold-specific behaviors. This technique will allow further cellular and molecular dissection of cold nociception.

Behavior

An Improved Assay and Tools for Measuring Mechanical Nociception in Drosophila Larvae

Roger Lopez-Bellido¹, Michael J. Galko^1,2,3

¹Department of Genetics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, ²Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, ³Genetics and Epigenetics Graduate Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

The goal of this protocol is to show how to perform an improved assay for mechanical nociception in Drosophila larvae. We use the assay here to demonstrate that mechanical hypersensitivity (allodynia and hyperalgesia) exists in Drosophila larvae.