Studying Membrane Protein Trafficking in Drosophila Photoreceptor Cells Using eGFP-Tagged Proteins

Membrane protein trafficking regulates the incorporation and removal of receptors and ion channels into the plasma membrane. This process is fundamentally important for cell function and cell integrity of neurons. Drosophila photoreceptor cells have become a model for studying membrane protein trafficking. Besides rhodopsin, which upon illumination becomes internalized from the photoreceptor membrane and is degraded, the transient receptor potential-like (TRPL) ion channel in Drosophila exhibits a light-dependent translocation between the rhabdomeral photoreceptor membrane (where it is located in the dark) and the photoreceptor cell body (to which it is transported upon illumination). This intracellular transport of TRPL can be studied in a simple and non-invasive way by expressing eGFP-tagged TRPL in photoreceptor cells. The eGFP fluorescence can then be observed either in the deep pseudopupil or by water immersion microscopy. These methods allow detection of fluorescence in the intact eye and are therefore useful for high-throughput assays and genetic screens for Drosophila mutants defective in TRPL translocation. Here, the preparation of flies, the microscopic techniques, as well as quantification methods used to study this light-triggered translocation of TRPL are explained in detail. These methods can be applied also for trafficking studies on other Drosophila photoreceptor proteins, for example, rhodopsin. In addition, by using eGFP-tagged rhabdomeral proteins, these methods can be used to assess the degeneration of photoreceptor cells.