title: High-pressure treatment of polytene chromosomes improves structural resolution.
abstract: The exceptional cytology provided by polytene chromosomes has made Drosophila melanogaster a premier model for chromosome studies, but full exploitation of polytene cytology is impeded by the difficulty in preparing high-quality chromosome spreads. Here we describe use of high pressure to produce formaldehyde-fixed chromosome spreads, which upon light-microscopy examination reveal structural detail previously observed only in electron microscopy preparations. We demonstrate applications to immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, B107 Chemical and Life Sciences Building, 601 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Dmitri V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Novikov
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kireev
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Belmont
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D011123:Polyploidy; D011312:Pressure; D013194:Staining and Labeling