>Does anyone know of a fluorescent dye that would stain the bristles of a
>fruitfly's eye? I think it's some sort of chitinous stuff.
>
>                                             Many thanks,
>

If I remember correctly, bristles show up black against the bright
background of flourescence you'll see in both the Rhodamine and Fluorescein
channels.  If you want to stain them, it will probably have to be with
something conjugated to a Cy5 or other dye which doesn't excite in the
Rhod/Fluor range to avoid being drowned in the autofluorescence.

Of course, you can always look at the bristles in Rhod or Fluor and see
them in a "negative stain" mode.  Good observations of morphology and
growth patterns can be made in this way.

CT

--
Charles Thomas
4D Imaging Coordinator
Integrated Microscopy Resource
Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison
1675 Observatory Dr.
Madison, WI  53706
608-263-6288   Office
608-265-4076   Fax


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