title: ChtVis-Tomato, a genetic reporter for in vivo visualization of chitin deposition in Drosophila.
abstract: Chitin is a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine that is abundant and widely found in the biological world. It is an important constituent of the cuticular exoskeleton that plays a key role in the insect life cycle. To date, the study of chitin deposition during cuticle formation has been limited by the lack of a method to detect it in living organisms. To overcome this limitation, we have developed ChtVis-Tomato, an in vivo reporter for chitin in Drosophila. ChtVis-Tomato encodes a fusion protein that contains an apical secretion signal, a chitin-binding domain (CBD), a fluorescent protein and a cleavage site to release it from the plasma membrane. The chitin reporter allowed us to study chitin deposition in time lapse experiments and by using it we have identified unexpected deposits of chitin fibers in Drosophila pupae. ChtVis-Tomato should facilitate future studies on chitin in Drosophila and other insects.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department and Cell Biology Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
authors.forename: Lukasz F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Sobala
authors.affiliation: Biology Department and Cell Biology Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Biology Department and Cell Biology Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA pna@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Paul N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Adler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002686:Chitin / Q000378:metabolism*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism*; D017930:Genes, Reporter / Q000235:genetics; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D011485:Protein Binding; D011679:Pupa / Q000378:metabolism; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D002686:Chitin
keywords: Chitin reporter; Cuticle; Drosophila; In vivo imaging