Transcriptional profiling of Drosophila photoreceptors in response to blue light

Purpose: The goal of this study was to characterize the transcript levels of genes in Drosophila photoreceptor neurons in response to blue light. Using transcriptome profiling of isolated photoreceptor nuclei, we analyzed the changes in gene expression that occur in response to 3h of blue light exposure at 1 or 6 days post-eclosion. We identified sets of genes with both up-regulated and down-regulated expression in response to blue light at either age. Method: Flies were exposed to 3h blue light (465nm; 8000 lux; 2mW/cm2) or dark control at 1 or 6 days post-eclosion. RNA extracted from photoreceptor nuclei of flies was used to generate cDNA libraries using NuGen Ovation Drosophila RNA seq system. Samples were sequenced using Illumina HiSeq2500 next generation sequencer (three biological replicates per age/treatment). As a control, total RNA isolated from the pre-isolation (head homogenate) from the day 1 dark sample was sequenced.