GMR lines Gal4 lines need two citations, one for the overall methodology (Pfeiffer et al. 2008) and one for the generation of the complete set with accompanying images (Jenett et al. 2012).
All GMR Gal4 lines are inserted into the attP2 site on 3L.
GMR Gal4 lines available from BDSC are listed here.
You can search the FlyLight site for GMR lines having expression in particular regions. This site shows low-resolution movies.
NBLAST can be used to search the GMR Gal4 line collection using morphometric criteria.
We have archived higher-resolution images for 3,505 selected GMR Gal4 lines. These images are kept on our server. These images are kept as read-only for most lab members to discourage deletion.
Note that a small fraction of GMR lines at Bloomington are actually incorrect, due to stock contamination. (The same is probably true of the GMR LexA lines and the VT lines.)
GMR LexA lines available from BDSC are listed here.
All GMR LexA lines are inserted into the attP40 site on 2L.
Projected stack images of brains for all 1450 GMR LexA lines that are available to us through BDSC are in the following directory on Wilson lab server (Wilson Lab\Flylight browser\rubin_lexA_line_imgs). You can load them all at once and then quickly screen through lines for further follow up with imageJ.
Note that many VT Gal4 lines have been culled from the VDRC VT Collection; culled stocks are listed here. If one of these stocks is important to us, we can re-generate with the help of WellGenetics.
Jenny has previously had success receiving VT Gal4 plasmids (and unavailable Gen1 Gal4 line plasmids) from Heather Dionne (dionneh@janelia.hhmi.org) with embryo plasmid injection done by BestGene. This saves time (weeks) and money.
VT LexA lines are not available from any stock center, and so these lines would need to be re-made if we want to use them. In this case, it may be worth requesting the plasmid from Barry Dickson; WellGenetics could then re-inject this plasmid into flies.
The relevant citation is Tirian et al. 2017 for VT split hemidrivers, aka BJD lines.
All GMT and VT split-Gal4 hemidrivers available from BDSC are listed here.
The likely expression patterns of split-Gal4 hemidrivers can be inferred from the expression patterns of the corresponding GMR line or VT line. However, split-Gal4 hemidriver expression patterns often do not match the expression patterns of the corresponding GMR line or VT line, partly because the split-Gal4 transgenes may be inserted into a different site in the genome. This is why it is necessary to actually screen split-Gal4 combinations for the desired expression pattern (see Split-Gal4 screening).
A specific combination of a AD domain and a DBD domain is called a split-Gal4 combination. Split-Gal4 combinations created atJanelia are reported here.
Note that Janelia publications reporting new split-Gal4 combinations typically use combinations of GMR and VT hemidrivers, but the VT hemidrivers are reported as “BJD” lines. The only way to identify the relevant enhancer fragment (from the VT collection) is to ask someone inside Janelia, e.g. Heather Dionne (
dionneh@janelia.hhmi.org).
The InSITE transgenic driver line collection is described in Gohl et al. 2011 Nature Methods. The lines are designed to be “swappable”, meaning that (in principle) it should be possible to convert a given line from a Gal4 line to a LexA or Q-system line having a similar expression pattern - e.g., John Tuthill swapped LexA into 0203-Gal4 to create 0203-LexA. See also InSITE info at BDRC.
To do a quick visual screen, begin with the InSITE Database. Images have been annotated based on the brain regions where they drive expression, so you can also do some coarse searches this way.
To examine interesting expression patterns in detail, the next step is to check the confocal stacks, which are stored on the server, in the directory ‘InSite Lines’. Note that in order to view a z-stack, you need to download the mdb file (not the lsm file), and then open the mdb file using the Zeiss LSM Image Browser. You can download the LSM Image Browser here.
InSITE lines are available from the BDRC. Lines in the database which are not available from the BDRC may be available from other InSITE consortium labs (Clandinin, Luo, Scott, Waddell, Miesenböck); please ask Rachel to send a request on your behalf if you are interested in this.
It is important for us to follow the rules established by the consortium in using these lines:
Do not distribute any unpublished lines from this collection outside our lab. However, once any given line is published, it should be shared freely.
The acknowledgements section of any paper that uses these lines should include Daryl M. Gohl and Marion A. Silies, as well as Tom Clandinin; all of them contributed to creating the collection.
Consider the interests of the other members of the consortium. Every participating lab has made a large contribution toward the collection (either in sweat or in dollars), and their investment needs to be protected. For example, it would not be a good idea to take these lines and use them to study Drosophila gustation, because this overlaps with Kristen Scott’s work. Also, it might be good idea not to talk about specific expression patterns in the collection with people outside our lab, because you might inadvertently end up sharing information which another collaborator would prefer to keep confidential.
If you want to take a small number of lines with you when you leave the lab, that is probably OK, but you should ask Rachel to confirm this with Tom.