Dissection and Mounting of Fruit Fly Larval Brain Explants
Transcript
To harvest brains from larval Drosophila, under a dissecting microscope, use one pair of number 5 standard-tip dissection forceps to hold a larval specimen in place, while using the other to carefully dissect out the brain, preserving the eye disks, brain lobes, and ventral nerve cord. Then, remove the attached muscles to minimize any movement of the sample during imaging. When all of the brains have been harvested, use vacuum grease to draw a square chamber onto a glass slide, and add 20 microliters of external saline solution to the chamber.
Use the forceps to transfer the brains to the chamber and adjust the positions of the brains under the microscope, with the dorsal sides facing up. Cover the chamber with a glass coverslip and press gently on the coverslip to reduce sample drifting during the imaging procedure.
