Drosophila development, endoplasmic reticulum

Visualisation of endoplasmic reticulum during development of a Drosophila embryo, using the fluorescent lipophilic dicarbocyanine dye DiI. During mitosis the signal is strongest at spindle poles, but not in the spindle itself. At telophase, there is accumulation of DiI at the midbody. During telophase the DiI signal becomes dispersed through the periplasm. This close-up shows well the nuclei, which do not take up the dye, remaining as black areas with the reticulum moving around them.