Snapshots in Neuroscience: Larval fruit fly brain

These images have been selected to showcase the art that neuroscience research can create.

As described by the authors: “The image shows a third-instar larval fruit fly brain, which includes two brain lobes and a ventral nerve cord. We wanted to know where Imp, an RNA binding protein, and its downstream target, Sdc, are localized and coexpressed.

“The immunostaining in this image highlights endogenously tagged Sdc (green), ElaV-expressing neurons (cyan), and Imp (yellow). DAPI staining of DNA (magenta) shows that Imp and Sdc are expressed in the same cells. This is important because we revealed that neuronal Imp and Sdc contribute to seizure behavior in adults, and our work suggests a functional interplay between the two.

“In our publication, we present a high-resolution magnified image showing coexpression of Imp and Sdc proteins in more detail. However, we can appreciate the beauty of this 20x confocal capture that displays Imp and Sdc expression patterns throughout the entire central nervous system. Not only does this image portray the beauty of the brain, but it also highlights the developmental significance of both genes for later brain function.”

The image was captured on a Zeiss 710 confocal microscope at 20x using endogenously tagged Sdc-GFP to highlight Sdc (green), ElaV/Alexa Fluor 647 to stain neurons (cyan), and Imp/Rhodamine RedX to show Imp protein (yellow). Image by Paula Roy.

Read the full article:

Loss of Neuronal Imp Contributes to Seizure Behavior through Syndecan Function
Paula R. Roy and Nichole Link