Abstract
This chapter presents techniques used for labeling single cells or small groups of cells with fluorescent dyes and proteins. Fluorescent dextran and photo-activatable fluorescent proteins (PAFP) labeling of cells offer a direct means to label single cells or small groups of cells, making it appropriate for either fate mapping or cell lineage studies. Lipid-soluble carbocyanine dyes offer a simpler means to label groups of cells for fate mapping studies. The experimental requirements for cell lineage and fate map studies are very similar. Both require a means of labeling a cell in a defined region of the embryo, of identifying the progeny of the labeled cell(s) over time, and of scoring the final phenotypes and positions of the progeny. There are a number of methods available to label single cells as well as small populations of cells in the chick embryo. While intracellular injection of rhodamine dextran is a very reliable technique for labeling individual cells, it is also a highly invasive technique. Consequently, cell death occurs in more than half the injected cells. 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine (DiI) on the other hand is less invasive but not noninvasive. It is best used for labeling more than one cell.
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