title: Using Linear Agarose Channels to Study Drosophila Larval Crawling Behavior.
abstract: Drosophila larval crawling is emerging as a powerful model to study neural control of sensorimotor behavior. However, larval crawling behavior on flat open surfaces is complex, including: pausing, turning, and meandering. This complexity in the repertoire of movement hinders detailed analysis of the events occurring during a single crawl stride cycle. To overcome this obstacle, linear agarose channels were made that constrain larval behavior to straight, sustained, rhythmic crawling. In principle, because agarose channels and the Drosophila larval body are both optically clear, the movement of larval structures labeled by genetically-encoded fluorescent probes can be monitored in intact, freely-moving larvae. In the past, larvae were placed in linear channels and crawling at the level of whole organism, segment, and muscle were analyzed1. In the future, larvae crawling in channels can be used for calcium imaging to monitor neuronal activity. Moreover, these methods can be used with larvae of any genotype and with any researcher-designed channel. Thus the protocol presented below is widely applicable for studies using the Drosophila larva as a model to understand motor control.
authors.affiliation: Committee on Development, Regeneration, and Stem Cell Biology, University of Chicago.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Committee on Development, Regeneration, and Stem Cell Biology, University of Chicago; Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Chicago; heckscher@uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: Ellie S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Heckscher
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D007814:Larva; D008124:Locomotion; D012685:Sepharose
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D012685:Sepharose