Polytene squashes

[m.champagne at cellbio.duke.edu]

In article <36F4296D.7DE1C94E at usa.net>, araby9 at usa.net wrote:

> Hello! My name is allison and I am doing squashes with drosophila
> larvae. The arms are spreading fine, but they keep coming out partialy
> of fully refractal. Does anyone know where to find protocals?  does
> anyone know a better way to spread than banging on the cover slip with
> an eraser? and does anyone know a better way to squash them than with
> their thumbs?
> thank you,
> allison


Allison,

for a protocol, you should check:   www.flybase.org/methods/cytogenetics.html
(since you wont probe the slide, you can stop at step #12.

I do almost exactly as they say, except that at step 8 I streak the surface
in a spiral pattern toward the CENTER (if you dont your material will get 
squished out!).

Most important:  dustfree slide, coverslip, tools + know how to set your 
microscope in phase contrast.

As for your question, I don't understand what you mean by 'they keep
coming out partialy of fully refractal'....
Good luck!

m