Procedure for incorporation of radioisotopically labeled metabolites into embryos of dipterous insects

Dechorionated embryos of the dipterous insect Phormia regina will undergo normal development in an aqueous environment if treated with sodium dodecyl sulfate and given ample aeration. Under these conditions, labeled metabolites such as 32P-, 3H-, or 14C-labeled uridine, thymidine, leucine, glycerol, and glucose are incorporated into the embryos. The level of labeling obtained under these conditions was sufficient to allow extraction, purification, and chromatography of 3H-uridine and 32P-labeled RNA on columns of methylated albumin-kieselguhr. The ability to use labeled metabolites with these embryos should facilitate future biochemical studies concerned with embryonic development in the dipterous insects.