Drosophila egg chambers

Xue F, Cooley L. kelch encodes a component of intercellular bridges in Drosophila egg chambers. Cell 1993 72(5) 681-693. 

Stage 14 Drosophila egg chambers (hereafter referred to as oocytes) are arrested in first meiotic metaphase. A cell-free extract of these oocytes catalyzes apparent disassembly of purified Drosophila nuclei (purified from either embryos or tissue culture cells) as well as of nuclear lamin polymers formed in vitro from isolated interphase lamins (Maus et al., 1995). Biochemically, the oocyte extract catalyzes lamin solubilization and phosphorylation as well as characteristic changes in one- and two-dimensional gel mobility. Cell-free nuclear lamina disassembly is ATP dependent and addition of calcium to extracts blocks disassembly as judged both morphologically and biochemically. 

Jacobs-Lorena, M., and Crippa, M. (1977). Mass fractionation of Drosophila egg chambers. Dev. Biol. 57,385-392. 

J. Sen, J. S. Goltz, L. Stevens, D. Stein, Spatially restricted expression of pipe in the Drosophila egg chamber defines embryonic dorsal-ventral polarity. Cell 1998 95, 471-81. 

This protocol has been used successfully for Drosophila embryos and egg chambers (Dernburg et ai, 1996a-c Marshall et ai, 1996) and also for maize meiocyte columns (A. F. Dernburg and J. C. Fung, unpublished). 

Cellector sieves for Drosophila embryo and egg chamber preparation catalog if 1985-ifffffifff ( various numbers for pans, screens of different mesh, keys for changing screens, or complete Cellector kits) contact company for international distributors]... 

Urban, P.L., Chang, C.H., Wu, J.T. and Chen, Y.C. (2011) Microscale MALDl imaging of outer-layer lipids in intact egg chambers from Drosophila melanogaster. Anal. Chem. 83,3918-3925. 

ANATOMY AND CELL BIOLOGY OL DROSOPHILA OOGENESIS A BRIEL SUMMARY, 68 METHODS TO VISUALIZE OOGENESIS AND EEMALE MEIOSIS, 71 IMAGING WHOLE-MOUNT EIXED EGG CHAMBERS, 71... 

Much has been learned about Drosophila meiosis by immunocytochemical studies of whole-mount oocytes lacking functional meiotic proteins and by localization of some of the relevant proteins (McKim et al. 1993 White-Cooper et al. 1993 Afshar et al. 1995 Endow and Komma 1996 Matthies et al. 1996 Moore et al. 1998). However, none of these classic methods easily point out kinetic problems, nor are the earliest points of deviation always readily obvious by static methods. For these reasons, and because the behavior of the highly dynamic components of the meiotic spindle may be perturbed in meiotic mutants, methods have been developed to directly observe the cytoskeleton and chromosomes in living egg chambers (Theurkauf 1994a Endow and Komma 1996 Matthies et al. 1996). 

Lin H. and Spradhng A.C. 1993. Germline stem cell division and egg chamber development in transplanted Drosophila germaria. Dev. Biol. 159 140—152. 

Samples such as Drosophila embryos or egg chambers are easily manipulated in suspension in 0.5-ml PCR tubes (Protocol 2.8), in which solutions are changed by allowing the tissue to settle to the bottom of the tube, aspirating the liquid carefully, and replacing with 400-500 xl of the new solution. This is by far the most convenient way to perform the hybridization and requires a minimum volume for all washing steps. The denaturation step is also easy to perform consistently, because the sample can be heated and annealed in a thermal cycler or conventional water bath. 

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