Fluorescent lectin staining of Drosophila embryos and tissues to detect the spatial distribution of glycans during development.

Glycans are the result of the coordinated activities of glycosyltransferases responsible for specific sugar additions. Glycans present on proteins can influence protein stability, transport, function, and recognition, and thus can have profound effects on cell-cell interactions, adhesion, and signaling events occurring during eukaryotic development. Lectin staining provides a useful tool to detect the spatial distribution of specific glycans in developing tissues in situ. Here we describe a method to detect diverse glycans present in developing Drosophila tissues and organs using fluorescently labeled lectins.