Figure 2. Static markers of autophagic vesicles.
A. Localization of Atg8a in the larval fat body. During the early L3 instar, autophagy proceeds at a low basal rate in well-fed animals, and mCherry-Atg8a is distributed evenly throughout the cell, with accumulation in the nucleus and exclusion from lipid droplets evident. In response to starvation, Atg8a is recruited to autophagic vesicles, forming discrete punctae of varying size and shape. In wandering stage L3 larvae, Atg8a is constitutively associated with autophagic vesicles, which are larger and rounder than the structures observed at earlier developmental stages. Scale bars, 10μm.
B. The acidophilic dye LysoTracker can be used to visualize the growth and activation of the lysosomal compartment in response to autophagy induction. Fat body and midgut cells display a distinct distribution pattern and appearance of autolysosomes, which in these images were induced in response to the oxidative stressors hydrogen peroxide and paraquat, respectively. Scale bars, 10μm.