RNA isolation from early Drosophila larval ovaries

In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, ovarian germline stem cells (GSCs) and their niches form during larval development. This process is poorly studied partly due to technical difficulties in isolating early larval ovaries. In addition, purifying RNA from larval ovaries proves to be more challenging than purifying it from other organs. Here we describe a technique for dissecting ovaries from early larvae and advise on how to extract RNA with maximum yield and purity. RNA isolation allows assaying gene expression in a direct and quantitative manner, which is invaluable for understanding molecular events underlying ovarian niche formation and GSC establishment.