The following information is excerpted from Marie Meister's letter of transmittal to the Bloomington Stock Center:
----------
The staining has been done without fixation by direct dissection into a drop of X-Gal solution (0.2% X-gal, 3.5 mM K[[4]]Fe(CN)[[6]], 3.5 mM K[[3]]Fe(CN)[[6]], 1 mM MgCl[[2]], 150 mM NaCl, 10 mM Na[[2]]HPO[[4]], 10 mM NaH[[2]]PO[[4]] and 30% Ficoll). The omission of the fixation step allows a more rapid screen, but it may result in some inaccuracy in the brain area staining (the distinction between ring gland, imaginal discs and brain is somewhat difficult when the staining is strong and leaking). The indications concerning the gut staining, especially in the case of weak colorations, may be misleading because there are variable levels and patterns of endogenous galactosidase activities in these tissues, depending on the genetic background. The results are given in levels of staining intensity:
++ strong staining
+ intermediate
(+) weak
((+)) very weak
----------
Many thanks to Marie for making these data available.
-- Kathy
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathy Matthews Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center
Department of Biology MATTHEWK@FLY.BIO.INDIANA.EDU
Indiana University MATTHEWK@INDIANA.EDU
Bloomington, IN 47405-6801 812-855-5782