Imaging and Analysis of Drosophila Neural Stem Cell Asymmetric Division

Abstract

Cell division is a conserved process among eukaryotes. It is designed to segregate chromosomes into future daughter cells and involves a complex rearrangement of the cytoskeleton, including microtubules and actin filaments. An additional level of complexity is present in asymmetric dividing stem cells because cytoskeleton elements are also regulated by polarity cues. The neural stem cell system of the fruit fly represents a simple model to dissect the mechanisms that control cytoskeleton reorganization during asymmetric division. In this chapter, we propose to describe protocols that allow accurate analysis of microtubule reorganization during cell division in this model.

Keywords: Asymmetric cell division; Central nervous system; Chromosomes; Drosophila; Indirect immunofluorescence; Live imaging; Microscopy; Microtubule; Neural stem cells.