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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Nov 15.
Published in final edited form as: Neuron. 2011 Feb 10;69(3):468–481. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.12.015

Figure 1. The olfactory environment modulates the pattern of Notch activation.

Figure 1

A. N-GV and N-LV assays for Notch activation. Binding of Delta to the ectodomain of Notch-GAL4-VP16 (N-GV, upper) and Notch-LexA-VP16 (N-LV, lower) proteins induces juxtamembrane (S2) followed by intramembrane (S3) cleavages, releasing GAL4-VP16 and LexA-VP16 from the membrane, allowing them to activate transcription from UAS.dGFP and LexOP.dGFP reporters in the nucleus. dGFP encodes a destabilized form of GFP. See also Figs. S1A, B.

B. Visualization of Notch activity in the adult brain using the N-GV system. N-GV UAS.dGFP/+ (“NGV>dGFP”) flies were raised on cornmeal food supplemented with molasses as a sugar source. dGFP can be detected in the D glomerulus in the antennal lobe (AL), in the antennal nerve (AN) and in neurons that project to the subesophageal ganglion (SOG). Here, and in all of the remaining figures, glomerular morphology has been visualized using nc82 antisera directed against Bruchpilot, a presynaptic marker (Wagh et al., 2006). Glomeruli were identified using the maps of Stocker et al., 1990 and Couto et al., 2005. Neuronal cell bodies are stained with anti-ELAV. AL neurons mediate olfaction, gustatory neurons project to the SOG (Wang et al., 2004b) and Johnston’s organ neurons project through the AN to the antennomechanosensory center (Sivan-Loukianova and Eberl, 2005). See also Fig. S1C.

C–F. N-GV UAS.dGFP/+ flies raised to eclosion and then aged for four days on cornmeal food supplemented with dextrose or molasses as a sugar source (hence forth “dextrose” or “molasses” food) were transferred for four days to food with the same sugar source (C & D) or to standard food with the other sugar source (E & F). The pattern of dGFP accumulation in response to dextrose food differs from that in response to molasses; changing the food source causes a corresponding change in the dGFP response. Here, and in subsequent figures, the results are also depicted in cartoon form using a standard diagram of left and right antennal lobes, with relevant glomeruli indicated by color (as in the color key): solid coloring indicates a positive dGFP response, and colored dotted outlines indicates a negative response. Some glomeruli (e.g., DC3 in this panel), are located beneath the plane of focus shown in the cartoon, and hence do not correspond with the black outlines depicting the morphology of the glomeruli located at the surface of the antennal lobe.