Name: protocols for visualizing steroidogenic organs and their interactive organs with immunostaining in the fruit fly drosophila melanogaster
Uploaded: 2017-04-14T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster at JoVE.com

We thank Reiko Kise and Tomotsune Ameku for their technical support for this work. We are also grateful to Kei Ito, Olga Alekseyenko, Akiko Koto, Masayuki Miura, the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center, KYOTO Stock Center (DGRC), and the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank for stocks and reagents. This work was supported by grants to Y.S.N. from JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 16K20945, The Naito Foundation, and Inoue Science Research Award; and by a grant to R.N. from MEXT KAKENHI Grant Number 16H04792.

NOTE: The overall scheme of protocols is shown in Figure 1.
1. The Dissection of the Larval Ring Gland (RG)
NOTE: In D. melanogaster, which belongs to cyclorrhaphous Diptera, the PG is within a composite endocrine organ called the ring gland (RG, Figure 2D).&#160;Since it is unfeasible that the PG is surgically separated from other types of cells (discussed later), a practical target is to i...

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We studied ecdysteroid biosynthesis and its regulatory mechanism in D. melanogaster, and devised a protocol for dissection and immunostaining. The timing of ecdysteroid biosynthesis is affected by environmental cues through neuronal inputs33, so it is essential to maintain the innervation of the ecdysteroidogenic organs along with the brain, VNC, and other tissues during dissection.
As described above, the&#160;D. melanogaster PG forms a complex endocr...

In multicellular organisms, a group of cells is endowed with a specialized function in their biogenic activity that is essential for the whole body. To fulfill their missions, each tissue or organ expresses a series of genes related to their functions and communicates with other tissues to orchestrate their activities in the context of development. To characterize such specialized cellular functions and inter-organ interactions, we need to specify a group of cells along with other types of cells being kept intact in the multicellular architecture.
One example of such specialized organs is a steroidogenic organ, where many biosynthetic enzymes mediate the conversion steps from cholesterol to active steroid hormones1. Most of these enzyme genes are specifically expressed in steroidogenic organs, and the biosynthesis pathway is tightly regulated by many external stimuli via humoral inputs and neuronal inputs. Once synthesized, steroid hormones are secreted into the hemolymph and are targeted to many tissues and organs for regulating the expression of a variety of genes2. Therefore, the action of a steroid hormone induces a systemic response to maintain homeostasis, growth, and reproduction.
To investigate the functions of steroid hormone biosynthesis and the pleiotropic actions of steroid hormones, Drosophila melanogaster can be utilized as a suitable model system. During the larval stages, the insect steroid hormone, ecdysteroid, is biosynthesized in a specialized endocrine organ called the prothoracic gland (PG)3. In the PG, several ecdysteroidogenic enzymes specifically catalyze the multiple conversion steps from cholesterol to ecdysone, which controls molting and metamorphosis at the appropriate developmental stages4. Therefore, a dynamic change in&#160;ecdysteroid titer is regulated by many signaling pathways in response to environmental cues. On the other hand, in the adult stage, ecdysteroid plays essential roles in physiology, including reproduction, sleep, memory, and lifespan5,6,7,8. It is known that ecdysteroid is actively biosynthesized in the ovary, regulating the progression of oogenesis6,7,8,9,10,11. Recently we have reported that the number of germline stem cells (GSCs) is affected by ecdysteroid and sex peptide signaling in response to mating stimuli12.
Powerful tools of D. melanogaster genetics and cell biology, including well-annotated genome information, binary gene expression systems, and transgenic RNAi techniques, have enabled us to identify genes essential to ecdysteroid biosynthesis in the PG and the ovary13,14,15. Once the ecdysteroidogenic genes are identified, the transcriptional regulation of these genes and the dynamic localizations of gene products can be examined in the biosynthesis pathway16. For this purpose, quantitative-reverse transcription-PCR, RNA in situ hybridization, and immunohistological analysis are conducted. The application of these techniques includes a challenging task; the&#160;elaborate dissection of the PG or the ovary. In particular, the PG of the fruit fly is relatively smaller than that of other insects (e.g. the silkworm and the blow fly), so one needs to practice the vital skill of fruit fly dissection for sampling. Furthermore, both ecdysteroidogenic organs receive innervations from the central nervous system (CNS)17,18,19,20. Thus, for accurate anatomical analyses, the ecdysteroidogenic organs should be kept intact along with the CNS and other organs, not to disrupt their neuronal connections.
Here we provide protocols for the dissection and visualization of steroidogenic organs in D. melanogaster. Learning the dissection technique is the key starting point for these&#160;experiments. In addition, one can successfully label the steroidogenic organs as well as their interactive organs with several antibodies and GAL4 driver lines. Taking advantage of these techniques, materials, and genetics, one can study the comprehensive mechanisms of steroid hormone biosynthesis.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>egg collection</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>tissue culture dish (55 mm)</td>
			<td>AS ONE</td>
			<td>1-8549-02</td>
			<td>&#160;for grape-juice agar plates</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>collection cup</td>
			<td>HIKARI KAGAKU</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>yeast paste</td>
			<td>Oriental dry yeast, Tokyo</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>100% grape juice</td>
			<td>Welch Food Inc.</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>rearing larvae</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>small vials (12ml, 40&#215;23.5 mm, PS)</td>
			<td>SARSTEDT</td>
			<td>58.487</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>disposable loop</td>
			<td>AS ONE</td>
			<td>6-488-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>standard fly food</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>&#160;the recepi us on the website of Blooington stock center.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>dissection</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>dissecting microscope</td>
			<td>Carl Zeiss</td>
			<td>Stemi 2000-C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>dissecting microscope</td>
			<td>Leica</td>
			<td>S8 AP0</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>tissue culture dish (35 x 10 mm, non-treated)</td>
			<td>IWAKI</td>
			<td>1000-035</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sylgard</td>
			<td>TORAY</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>coarting silicon inside dishes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Terumo needle (27G, 0.40 x 19 mm)&#160;</td>
			<td>TERUMO</td>
			<td>NN-2719S</td>
			<td>A &#34;knife&#34; to cut the tissue</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Terumo syringe,&#12288;1ml</td>
			<td>TERUMO</td>
			<td>SS-01T</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>forceps, Inox, #5</td>
			<td>Dumont, Switzerland</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>insect pin (0.18 mm in diameter)</td>
			<td>Shiga Brand</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>for fillet dissection</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>micro scissors</td>
			<td>NATSUME SEISAKUSHO CO LTD.&#160;</td>
			<td>MB-50-10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>fixation</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ultrapure water</td>
			<td>Merck Millipore</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>phosphate buffered saline (PBS)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Formaldehyde</td>
			<td>Nacalai tesque</td>
			<td>16222-65</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Paraformaldehyde</td>
			<td>Nacalai tesque</td>
			<td>02890-45</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Triton-X100</td>
			<td>Nacalai tesque</td>
			<td>35501-15</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>microtubes (1.5 ml)</td>
			<td>INA OPTIKA</td>
			<td>CF-0150</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Incubation</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>As one swist mixer TM-300 (rocker)</td>
			<td>As one</td>
			<td>TM-300</td>
			<td>rocker</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine Serum Albumin</td>
			<td>SIGMA</td>
			<td>9048-46-8</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>primary antibody</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-Sro (guinea pig), 1:1000</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-GFP (rabbit), 1:1000</td>
			<td>Molecular Probes</td>
			<td>A6455</td>
			<td>Shimada-Niwa ans Niwa, 2014</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-GFP (mouse mAb, GF200), 1:100</td>
			<td>Nakarai tesque</td>
			<td>04363-66</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-5HT (rabbit), 1:500</td>
			<td>SIGMA</td>
			<td>S5545</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-Hts 1B1 (mouse)</td>
			<td>Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank (DSHB)</td>
			<td>1B1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-DE-cadherin (rat), 1:20</td>
			<td>DSHB</td>
			<td>DCAD2</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-nc82 (mouse), 1:50</td>
			<td>DSHB</td>
			<td>nc82</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>secondary antibody</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Goat anti-Rabbit IgG (H+L) Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 488 conjugate</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>A-11008</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Goat anti-Mouse IgG (H+L) Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 488 conjugate</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>A-11001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Goat anti-Rat IgG (H+L) Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 546 conjugate</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>A-11081</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Goat anti-Guinea Pig IgG (H+L) Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 555 conjugate</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>A-21435</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Alexa Fluor 546 dye-conjugated phalloidin</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>A-22283</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mounting reagents</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Micro slide glass</td>
			<td>Matsunami Glass Ind.,Ltd.</td>
			<td>SS7213</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Square microscope cover glass</td>
			<td>Matsunami Glass Ind.,Ltd.</td>
			<td>C218181</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FluorSave reagent (Mounting reagent)</td>
			<td>Calbiochem</td>
			<td>345789</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Transfer pipette 1 ml (Disposable dropper)</td>
			<td>WATSON</td>
			<td>5660-222-1S</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>imaging</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>LSM700 laser scanning microscope system</td>
			<td>Carl Zeiss</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>inverted Axio Observer. Z1 SP left</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>image processing</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>LSM700 ZEN</td>
			<td>Carl Zeiss</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>It is a special user interface based on the 64 bit Microsoft Windows7 operating system</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ImageJ</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fly stocks</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>w; GMR45C06-GAL4</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>&#160;from Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center. (#46260)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>UAS&#8211;GFP; UAS&#8211;mCD8::GFP</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>gifts from K. Ito, The University of Tokyo.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>w[1118]</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>w; phantom-GAL4#22/UAS-turboRFP</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>w; UAS-mCD8::GFP; TRH-GAL4</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>see in Ref29, Alekseyenko, O. V, Lee, C. &#38; Kravitz, E. A.(2010)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>w; UAS-mCD8::GFP</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>&#160;from Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center. (#32188)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>yw;; nSyb-GAL4</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>&#160;from Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center. (#51941)</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

protocols for visualizing steroidogenic organs and their interactive organs with immunostaining in the fruit fly drosophila melanogaster

In multicellular organisms, a small group of cells is endowed with a specialized function in their biogenic activity, inducing a systemic response to&#160;growth and reproduction. In insects, the larval prothoracic gland (PG) and the adult female ovary play essential roles in biosynthesizing the principal steroid hormones called ecdysteroids. These ecdysteroidogenic organs are innervated from the nervous system, through&#160;which the timing of biosynthesis is affected by environmental cues. Here we describe a protocol for visualizing ecdysteroidogenic organs and their interactive organs in larvae and adults of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which provides a suitable model system for studying steroid hormone biosynthesis and its regulatory mechanism. Skillful dissection allows us to maintain the positions of ecdysteroidogenic organs and their interactive organs including the brain, the ventral nerve cord, and other tissues. Immunostaining with antibodies against ecdysteroidogenic enzymes, along with transgenic fluorescence proteins driven by tissue-specific promoters, are available to label ecdysteroidogenic cells. Moreover, the innervations of the ecdysteroidogenic organs can also be labeled by specific antibodies or a collection of GAL4 drivers in various types of neurons. Therefore, the ecdysteroidogenic organs and their neuronal connections can be&#160;visualized simultaneously&#160;by immunostaining and transgenic techniques. Finally, we describe how to visualize germline stem cells, whose proliferation and maintenance are controlled by ecdysteroids. This method contributes to comprehensive understanding of steroid hormone biosynthesis and its neuronal regulatory mechanism.

We used the above protocols to visualize steroidogenic organs and their interactive organs in D. melanogaster larvae and adult females. The overall scheme of protocols is shown in Figure 1.
The RG, including the PG (Figure 2D), is smaller and more transparent than the brain and is located at the anterior-dorsal side of the brain (Figure 2A-C and 3A-E). To label the PG cells, several groups have generated various types of antibodies against ecdysteroidogenic e...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster at JoVE.com

Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster

We describe a protocol for dissection, fixation, and immunostaining of steroidogenic organs in Drosophila larvae and adult females to study steroid hormone biosynthesis and its regulatory mechanism. In addition to steroidogenic organs, we visualize the innervation of steroidogenic organs as well as steroidogenic target cells such as germline stem cells.

Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster

In multicellular organisms, a small group of cells is endowed with a specialized function in their biogenic activity, inducing a systemic response ...

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