Elsevier

Experimental Cell Research

Volume 69, Issue 1, November 1971, Pages 161-173
Experimental Cell Research

Differentiation of neurons and myocytes in cell cultures made from Drosophila gastrulae

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Abstract

Single Drosophila melanogaster embryos of known developmental stages were dissociated and their cells cultured in vitro. Nearly all cells from blastulae disintegrated in vitro. Certain cells taken from embryos at the time gastrulation began or later, could differentiate in vitro to form neurons or pulsating myocytes by 28 h in vitro. Observations made by electron microscopy indicated that early gastrula cells are unspecialized in gross morphology and ultrastructure. Axon generation by neurons and cell elongation by myocytes therefore represented gross morphological differentiations in vitro. Cells with ultrastructures characteristic of neurons and myocytes were found after seven days in culture. These findings confirmed the neuron and myocyte cell ultrastructure in vitro. The pulsations of myocytes indicated their sarcoplasm differentiated to a functioning level.

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This work was supported by NIH grants AI05038 and NS09330 (R.L.S.), CAO8791 (R.L.T.), National Science Foundation grant GB6634 to Seymour Benzer, and a Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, France, Fellowship (N. A.), and by the Poultry Industry Research Fellowship in honor of W. E. McKibben (R. L. S.), and the Zachary Pitts Research Fellowship (R. L. T.).

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Present address: Laboratoire de Zoologie Expérimentale, Faculté des Sciences, 33 Talence, France.

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