Lineage analysis of transplanted individual cells in embryos of Drosophila melanogaster : I. The method.

A method is presented which allows the study of the progeny of single cells during Drosophila embryogenesis. Cells from various larval anlagen of donor embryos labelled with a lineage tracer are individually transplanted from defined positions into similar, or different, positions in unlabelled hosts. The clones produced by these cells can be seen in whole mounts or in sections of fixed material, when using a histochemical marker (i.e. HRP), and/or in living embryos, when using fluorescent lineage tracers. The characteristics of the clones disclose lineage parameters, such as division patterns, morphogenetic movements and differentiation. The method is especially useful for testing the respective roles of positional information and cell lineage on the commitment of progenitor cells by transplanting these cells into heterotopic positions or into hosts of different genotypes.