Assessing Glucose Uptake in the Motor Neurons of <em>Drosophila</em> Larvae with Upregulated Glucose Metabolism

Source: Loganathan, S., et al., Measuring Glucose Uptake in Drosophila Models of TDP-43 Proteinopathy. J. Vis. Exp. (2021). The video demonstrates a technique for measuring glucose uptake in Drosophila larval motor neurons using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based intracellular glucose sensor. After dissecting the larvae to expose the ventral nerve cord, the motor neurons are visualized through the fluorescence emitted by the sensor's donor fluorophore. When stimulated with glucose, FRET between the sensor's donor and acceptor fluorophores triggers the emission of fluorescence from the acceptor, enabling the comparison of glucose uptake between control larvae and mutant larvae with upregulated glucose metabolism.