Dissection of larval CNS in Drosophila melanogaster

The central nervous system (CNS) of Drosophila larvae is complex and poorly understood. One way to investigate the CNS is to use immunohistochemistry to examine the expression of various novel and marker proteins. Staining of whole larvae is impractical because the tough cuticle prevents antibodies from penetrating inside the body cavity. In order to stain these tissues it is necessary to dissect the animal prior to fixing and staining. In this article we demonstrate how to dissect Drosophila larvae without damaging the CNS. Begin by tearing the larva in half with a pair of fine forceps, and then turn the cuticle "inside-out" to expose the CNS. If the dissection is performed carefully the CNS will remain attached to the cuticle. We usually keep the CNS attached to the cuticle throughout the fixation and staining steps, and only completely remove the CNS from the cuticle just prior to mounting the samples on glass slides. We also show some representative images of a larval CNS stained with Eve, a transcription factor expressed in a subset of neurons in the CNS. The article concludes with a discussion of some of the practical uses of this technique and the potential difficulties that may arise.