Immuno-electrophysiology on Neuromuscular Junctions of Drosophila Third Instar Larva

Raffaella Klima; Giulia Romano; Monsurat Gbadamosi; Aram Megighian; Fabian Feiguin

doi:10.21769/BioProtoc.3913

Immuno-electrophysiology on Neuromuscular Junctions of Drosophila Third Instar Larva

Bio Protoc. 2021 Feb 5;11(3):e3913. doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.3913.

Authors

Raffaella Klima¹, Giulia Romano¹, Monsurat Gbadamosi¹, Aram Megighian^{2

3}, Fabian Feiguin¹

Affiliations

¹ International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Padriciano 99, 34149 Trieste, Italy.
² Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy.
³ Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Via Orus 2/B, 35131 Padova, Italy.

Abstract

Alterations in synaptic transmission are critical early events in neuromuscular disorders. However, reliable methodologies to analyze the functional organization of the neuromuscular synapses are still needed. This manuscript provides a detailed protocol to analyze the molecular assembly of the neuromuscular synapses through immune-electrophysiology in Drosophila melanogaster. This technique allows the quantification of the molecular behavior of the neuromuscular synapses by correlating the structural configuration of the synaptic boutons with their electrical activity.

Keywords: Drosophila melanogaster; Electrophysiology; Immunocytochemistry; Neurological disorders; Neuromuscular synapses; Synaptic boutons; Third instar larvae.