Rapid preparation of a panel of polyclonal antibodies to Drosophila segmentation proteins

We describe a method for rapidly raising a panel of high quality polyclonal antibodies from bacterially expressed proteins. Approximately 1(2)/3 days of preparation is required per protein. One step that speeds up the procedure is the visualization of purified bands by precipitated sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Antigenicity of the purified recombinant proteins may be increased by precipitation in double-distilled water. The results of using the serums obtained for fluorescent staining of Drosophila embryos are shown.