Microinjection techniques for studying centrosome function in Drosophila melanogaster syncytial embryos.

Microinjection is a powerful technique that can be used to study protein function. Early Drosophila embryos are particularly amenable to microinjection due to their large size and their single cell status. Here, we report methods to microinject these embryos with various reagents to study the function of proteins at centrosomes and centrosome function more generally. Although precise details vary between laboratories, many aspects of the process are conserved. We describe the process from setting up a fly cage to imaging the injected embryos on a spinning disk confocal microscope and use specific examples to highlight the potency of this technique.