An optimized dissociation protocol for FACS-based isolation of rare cell types from L1 larvae.

Single-cell isolation and transcriptomic analysis of a specific cell type or tissue offers the possibility of studying cell function and heterogeneity in time-dependent processes with remarkable resolution. The reduced tissue complexity and highly stereotyped development of , combined with an extensive genetic toolbox and the ease of growing large tightly synchronized populations makes it an exceptional model organism for the application of such approaches. However, the difficulty to dissociate and isolate single cells from larval stages has been a major constraint to this kind of studies. Here, we describe an improved protocol for dissociation and preparation of single cell suspensions from developmentally synchronized populations of L1 larvae. Our protocol has been empirically optimized to allow efficient FACS-based purification of large number of single cells from rare cell types, for subsequent extraction and sequencing of their mRNA.