title: Selective plane illumination microscopy techniques in developmental biology.
abstract: Selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) and other fluorescence microscopy techniques in which a focused sheet of light serves to illuminate the sample have become increasingly popular in developmental studies. Fluorescence light-sheet microscopy bridges the gap in image quality between fluorescence stereomicroscopy and high-resolution imaging of fixed tissue sections. In addition, high depth penetration, low bleaching and high acquisition speeds make light-sheet microscopy ideally suited for extended time-lapse experiments in live embryos. This review compares the benefits and challenges of light-sheet microscopy with established fluorescence microscopy techniques such as confocal microscopy and discusses the different implementations and applications of this easily adaptable technology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA. jan.huisken@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huisken
authors.forename: Didier Y R
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Stainier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015509:Developmental Biology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000648:ultrastructure; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology