Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.
Methods. 2012 Jan;56(1):78-86. doi: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2011.10.005. Epub 2011 Oct 19.
We describe our methods for analysing muscle function in a whole intact small insect, taking advantage of a simple flexible optical beam to produce an inexpensive transducer with wide application. We review our previous data measuring the response to a single action potential driven muscle twitch to explore jumping behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster. In the fruitfly, where the sophisticated and powerful genetic toolbox is being widely employed to investigate neuromuscular function, we further demonstrate the use of the apparatus to analyse in detail, within whole flies, neuronal and muscle mutations affecting activation of muscle contraction in the jump muscle. We have now extended the use of the apparatus to record the muscle forces during larval and other aspects of adult locomotion. The robustness, simplicity and versatility of the apparatus are key to these measurements.
我们描述了一种在完整的小型昆虫中分析肌肉功能的方法，利用简单灵活的光梁制作出廉价的传感器，具有广泛的应用。我们回顾了之前测量对单个动作电位驱动的肌肉抽搐反应的结果，以探索黑腹果蝇的跳跃行为。在果蝇中，复杂而强大的遗传工具包被广泛用于研究神经肌肉功能，我们进一步展示了该仪器的用途，可在整个果蝇中详细分析影响跳跃肌肉收缩激活的神经元和肌肉突变。我们现在已经扩展了该仪器的使用范围，以记录幼虫和成虫其他运动方面的肌肉力量。该仪器的稳健性、简单性和多功能性是这些测量的关键。
