T. Bossing et Gm. Technau, THE FATE OF THE CNS MIDLINE PROGENITORS IN DROSOPHILA AS REVEALED BY A NEW METHOD FOR SINGLE-CELL LABELING, Development, 120(7), 1994, pp. 1895-1906
We present a new method for marking single cells and tracing their dev
elopment through embryogenesis. Cells are labelled with a lipophilic f
luorescent tracer (DiI) in their normal positions without impaling the
ir membranes. The dye does not diffuse between cells but is transferre
d to the progeny, disclosing their morphology in all detail. Behaviour
of labelled cells can be observed in vivo (cell divisions, morphogene
tic movements and differentiation). Following photoconversion of the d
ye, fully differentiated clones can be analyzed in permanent preparati
ons. We apply this method for cell lineage analysis of the embryonic D
rosophila CNS. Here we describe the fate of the CNS midline cells. We
present the complete lineages of these cells in the fully differentiat
ed embryo and show that variability exists in segmental numbers of the
midline progenitors as well as in the composition of their lineages,