In vivo Bioluminescence Imaging of Ca2 Signalling in the Brain of Drosophila

Abstract

Many different cells' signalling pathways are universally regulated by Ca(2+) concentration [Ca(2+)] rises that have highly variable amplitudes and kinetic properties. Optical imaging can provide the means to characterise both the temporal and spatial aspects of Ca(2+) signals involved in neurophysiological functions. New methods for in vivo imaging of Ca(2+) signalling in the brain of Drosophila are required for probing the different dynamic aspects of this system. In studies here, whole brain Ca(2+) imaging was performed on transgenic flies with targeted expression of the bioluminescent Ca(2+) reporter GFP-aequorin (GA) in different neural structures. A photon counting based technique was ..