Drosophila melanogaster Larva Injection Protocol

Podsumowanie

Drosophila melanogaster adult flies have been extensively utilized as model organisms to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying host antimicrobial innate immune responses and microbial infection strategies. To promote the D. melanogaster larva stage as an additional or alternative model system, a larval injection technique is described.

Streszczenie

The use of unconventional models to study innate immunity and pathogen virulence provides a valuable alternative to mammalian models, which can be costly and raise ethical issues. Unconventional models are notoriously cheap, easy to handle and culture, and do not take much space. They are genetically amenable and possess complete genome sequences, and their use presents no ethical considerations. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, for instance, has provided great insights into a variety of behavior, development, metabolism, and immunity research. More specifically, D. melanogaster adult flies and larvae possess several innate defense reactions that are shared with vertebrate animals. The mechanisms regulating immune responses have been mostly revealed through genetic and molecular studies in the D. melanogaster model. Here a novel larval injection technique is provided, which will further promote investigations of innate immune processes in D. melanogaster larvae and explore the pathogenesis of a wide range of microbial infections.

Wprowadzenie

Drosophila melanogaster has been immensely utilized in biological and biomedical research for several decades, as the sophisticated array of genetic and molecular tools have steadily evolved for analysis of a wide range of studies^1,2,3,4. The evolutionarily conserved aspects of development, homeostasis and innate immunity in D. melanogaster have made it a valuable model organism for studying various human and insect diseases^5,6. Notably, the fundamental role of the ....

Protokół

1. Fly rearing

NOTE: The D. melanogaster life cycle is divided into four stages: embryo, larva, pupa, and adult. The generation time with optimal rearing conditions in the laboratory (~25 °C, 60% humidity, and sufficient food) is approximately 10 days from fertilized egg to eclosed adult.Females lay ~100 embryos per day, and embryogenesis lasts about 24 h²². The larvae undergo three developmental stages (instars; L1-L3) in ~4 days (L1 and L2: 24 h, and L3: 48 h). The first instar larvae begin to feed immediately on the surface of the medium. Second instar larvae burrow into the medium, wh....

Wyniki

When performed correctly, injections of D. melanogaster larvae show a bacterium-specific effect. The survival data were collected at several time points following infections of P. asymbiotica (strain ATCC43943), E. coli (strain K12), and PBS (Figure 4). Whereas D. melanogaster larvae are susceptible to P. asymbiotica, which compromises survival rapidly, larvae injected with E. coli or PBS controls exhibit prolonged survivals

Dyskusje

Drosophila melanogaster is among the most valuable, experimentally manipulated models used for investigations of innate immunity and pathogenesis of various microbial infections. This is due to its simple and fast life cycle, simple upkeep in a laboratory, well-established evolutionary genetics, and diverse genetic toolbox. Previous methods of D. melanogaster larvae injections, such as using a hybrid microfluidic device or a Narishige micromanipulator, require highly specialized equipment and can be cos.......

Materiały

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Fly Food B (Bloomington Recipe)	LabExpress	7001-NV	Food B, in narrow vials, 100 vials/tray
100 x 15, Mono Petri Dishes Fully Stackable	VWR	25384-342	Diameter 100 x 15 mm
60 x 15, Mono Petri dishes Fully Stackable	VWR	25384-092	Diameter 60 x 15 mm
Glass capillaries	VWR	53440-186
Grade 1 qualitative filter paper standard grade, circle	VWR	28450-150	Diameter 150 mm
Lab culture Class II Type A2 Biosafety Safety Cabinet	ESCO	LA2-4A2-E
LB Agar	Fisher Scientific	BP1425-500	LB agar miller powder 500 g
LB Broth	Fisher Scientific	BP1426-500	LB broth miller powder 500 g
Mineral oil	Alfa Aesar, Thermo Fisher Scientific	31911-A1
NanoDrop 2000/2000c Spectrophotometer	Thermo Fisher Scientific	ND-2000C
Nanoject III Programmable Nanoliter Injector	Drummond	3-000-207
Narrow Drosophila Vials, Polystyrene	Genesee Scientific	32-109
Needles, hypodermic	VWR	89219-316	22 G, 25 mm
Next Generation Micropipette Puller	World Precision Instruments	SU-P1000
PBS	VWR	97062-732	Buffer PBS tablets biotech grade 200tab
Prism	GraphPad	Version 8
Syringes - plastic, disposable	VWR	76124-652	20 mL
Trypan Blue	Sigma-Aldrich	T8154