Preparation of dissociated ommatidia from Drosophila. 2011

Patrick Dolph, and Amit Nair, and Padinjat Raghu

Adult Drosophila have a compound eye composed of approximately 750 repeating units, called ommatidia, packed together to form the retina. Each ommatidium is a precise arrangement of 19 cells: eight photoreceptors (primary sensory neurons) and 11 accessory cells. Analysis of visual physiology in Drosophila photoreceptors has been central to understanding a number of important areas of modern biology, including the G-protein-coupled receptor cycle, phosphoinositide signaling, and calcium signaling. Analysis of photoreceptor performance and synaptic transmission are areas of neurobiology that have been studied using Drosophila photoreceptors as a model system. Electrophysiological analysis of responses to light is a powerful tool for characterizing and understanding visual transduction in Drosophila photoreceptors. This protocol describes the isolation of dissociated ommatidia for use in voltage-clamp recordings of currents from photoreceptors, allowing detailed analysis of ion channels such as the transient receptor potential and potassium channels in photoreceptors. Mechanical dissociation of ommatidia is typically performed in flies that are <4 h post-eclosion. In animals older than this, the ommatidia become progressively more firmly attached to each other and cannot be dissociated mechanically without causing substantial damage to the constituent photoreceptors. Like the rest of the fly, the eye is surrounded by a cuticle. Thus, before the dissociation process, the eye is dissected from the rest of the head and the retina is scooped out of the cuticular covering.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009799 Ocular Physiological Phenomena Processes and properties of the EYE as a whole or of any of its parts. Ocular Physiologic Processes,Ocular Physiological Processes,Ocular Physiology,Eye Physiology,Ocular Physiologic Process,Ocular Physiological Concepts,Ocular Physiological Phenomenon,Ocular Physiological Process,Physiology of the Eye,Physiology, Ocular,Visual Physiology,Concept, Ocular Physiological,Concepts, Ocular Physiological,Ocular Physiological Concept,Phenomena, Ocular Physiological,Phenomenon, Ocular Physiological,Physiologic Process, Ocular,Physiologic Processes, Ocular,Physiological Concept, Ocular,Physiological Concepts, Ocular,Physiological Process, Ocular,Physiological Processes, Ocular,Physiology, Eye,Physiology, Visual,Process, Ocular Physiologic,Process, Ocular Physiological,Processes, Ocular Physiologic,Processes, Ocular Physiological
D004330 Drosophila A genus of small, two-winged flies containing approximately 900 described species. These organisms are the most extensively studied of all genera from the standpoint of genetics and cytology. Fruit Fly, Drosophila,Drosophila Fruit Flies,Drosophila Fruit Fly,Drosophilas,Flies, Drosophila Fruit,Fly, Drosophila Fruit,Fruit Flies, Drosophila
D004594 Electrophysiology The study of the generation and behavior of electrical charges in living organisms particularly the nervous system and the effects of electricity on living organisms.
D004772 Entomology A discipline or occupation concerned with the study of INSECTS, including the biology and the control of insects.
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D054910 Compound Eye, Arthropod Light sensory organ in ARTHROPODS consisting of a large number of ommatidia, each functioning as an independent photoreceptor unit. Arthropod Compound Eye,Arthropod Compound Eyes,Compound Eyes, Arthropod
D017956 Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate Specialized cells in the invertebrates that detect and transduce light. They are predominantly rhabdomeric with an array of photosensitive microvilli. Illumination depolarizes invertebrate photoreceptors by stimulating Na+ influx across the plasma membrane. Invertebrate Photoreceptors,Photoreceptors, Invertebrate,Invertebrate Photoreceptor Cells,Cell, Invertebrate Photoreceptor,Cells, Invertebrate Photoreceptor,Invertebrate Photoreceptor,Invertebrate Photoreceptor Cell,Photoreceptor Cell, Invertebrate,Photoreceptor, Invertebrate

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