MICROINJECTION INTO CRANE-FLY SPERMATOCYTES

We were successful in microinjecting fluorescently labelled material i nto crane-fly spermatocytes. In our experiments, we obtained four resu lts. (i) In most attempts, the membrane stretched around the micropipe tte and prevented entry of fluorescent material, even when the micropi pette appeared to be pushed completely through the cell. This confirms suppositions from earlier micromanipulation experiments that the elas tic membrane prevents the micropipette needle from entering the cell. (ii) In some attempts, cells lysed upon contact with the micropipette. (iii) In other attempts, we successfully injected fluorescent materia l into cells. (iv) Fluorescent material left the cells after injection , often passing into adjacent cells. Although our success rate is low, microinjection into crane-fly spermatocytes is indeed possible.