TY - JOUR T1 - Goggatomy: a Method for Opening Small Cuticular Compartments in Arthropods for Physiological Experiments JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/053298 SP - 053298 AU - Alan R. Kay AU - Davide Raccuglia AU - Jon Scholte AU - Elena Loukianova AU - Christopher Barwacz AU - Steven R. Armstrong AU - C. Allan Guymon AU - Michael N. Nitabach AU - Daniel F. Eberl Y1 - 2016/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/05/18/053298.abstract N2 - Most sense organs of arthropods are ensconced in small exoskeletal compartments that hinder direct access to plasma membranes. We have developed a method for exposing live sensory and supporting cells in such structures. The technique uses a viscous light cured resin to embed and support the structure, which is then sliced with a sharp blade. We term the procedure a ‘goggatomy’, from the Khoisan word for a bug, gogga. To demonstrate the utility of the method we show that it can be used to expose the auditory chordotonal organs in the second antennal segment and the olfactory receptor neurons in the third antennal segment of Drosophila melanogaster, preserving the transduction machinery. The procedure can also be used on other small arthropods, like mites, Daphnia, mosquitoes, wasps and ants to expose a variety of cells. ER -