GD STAINING/MRI FOR FLIGHT MUSCLES ANATOMY IN FORMALIN-FIXED LARGE BEETLE

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Gd stain and MRI image of anterior 2/3 of undissected large female beetle (Palo Verde Root Borer (Derobrachus sp) from Tucson, AZ), previously fixed by (and still in) 10% formalin in Ringer solution. This will complement July 2009 MRI study and later dissections of unfixed, unstained male & female beetles of same species. Objectives are twofold: 1) to image position and fiber size & orientation of lomgitudinal and dorso-ventral flight muscles in thorax, and 2) to verify apparent and surprisig absence of a) functional mouth parts, b) swallowing passage (esophgus) and any sign of GI tract in narrow cephalic and spacious thoracic and abdominal cavities while undisturbed by any prior invasive dissection. Want to discuss high-resolution MRI imaging of aldehyde-fixed flight muscle in situ in thorax from a giant waterbug, perhaps with Gd-staining, to complement my year 2000 study of unfixed flight muscle in situ in a whole waterbug. These muscles show long-range crystallinity by x-ray microbeam diffractio, but not by EM thin sectioning; We want to do MRI and then plastic embed and do light microscopy of unperturbed in-situ structure of whole flight muscle to see if the long-range crystalline and the implied absence of all or any twisitng of myofibrils can be carefully preserved and visualized by thin-section EM.