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Live Imaging of the Drosophila Testis Stem Cell Niche

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Germline Stem Cells

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2677))

Abstract

Live imaging of adult tissue stem cell niches provides key insights into the dynamic behavior of stem cells, their differentiating progeny, and their neighboring support cells, but few niches are amenable to this approach. Here, we discuss a technique for long-term live imaging of the Drosophila testis stem cell niche. Culturing whole testes ex vivo for up to 18 h allows for tracking of cell-type-specific behaviors under normal and various chemically or genetically modified conditions. Fixing and staining tissues after live imaging allows for the molecular confirmation of cell identity and behavior. By using live imaging in intact niches, we can better uncover the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate stem cell function in vivo.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Steve DiNardo and Kari Lenhart for sharing adaptations to the protocol, and Margaret de Cuevas and Miriam Akeju for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by NIH Grants GM136665 and HD052937 (EM). The Zeiss LSM 780 confocal microscope used in this study was funded by NIH Grant S10 OD016374. LJG was supported by T32 GM007445 and F31HD085748.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Leah J. Greenspan

  2. Department of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Erika L. Matunis

Authors
  1. Leah J. Greenspan
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  2. Erika L. Matunis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erika L. Matunis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

    Michael Buszczak

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© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

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Greenspan, L.J., Matunis, E.L. (2023). Live Imaging of the Drosophila Testis Stem Cell Niche. In: Buszczak, M. (eds) Germline Stem Cells. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2677. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3259-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3259-8_6

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-3258-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-3259-8

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