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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Imaging Cell Shape Change in Living Drosophila Embryos
Published on: March 30, 2011
Lighting Up Gene Activation in Living Drosophila Embryos
Carola Fernandez1, Mounia Lagha2
1Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, Cedex 5, France.
Abstract:
With its rapid development, ease of collection, and the presence of a unique layer of nuclei located close to the surface, the Drosophila syncytial embryo is ideally suited to study the establishment of gene expression patterns during development. Recent improvements in RNA labeling technologies and confocal microscopy allow for visualizing gene activation and quantifying transcriptional dynamics in living Drosophila embryos. Here we review the available tools for mRNA fluorescent labeling and detection in live embryos and precisely describe the overall procedure, from design to mounting and confocal imaging.
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