Necrosis is a form of cell death characterized by cytoplasmic and organelle swelling, compromised �membrane integrity, intracellular acidification, and increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cytosolic Ca2+ . In theDrosophilaovary, two distinct forms of cell death occur naturally. In response to starvation, caspase-dependent cell death occurs during mid-oogenesis. Additionally, the nurse cells, which support the developing oocyte, undergo developmental programmed cell death during late oogenesis after they dump their contents into the oocyte. Evidence suggests that necrosis may be playing an important role during developmental programmed cell death of the nurse cells during late oogenesis. Here, we describe several methods to detect events associated with necrosis in theDrosophilaovary. Propidium iodide is used to detect cells with compromised membrane integrity, and H2 DCFDA is used as an indicator of ROS levels in a cell. In addition, LysoTracker detects intracellular acidification and X-rhod-1 detects cytosolic Ca2+ . We also describe transgenic methods to detect Ca2+ levels and expression patterns. These methods performed in theDrosophilaovary, as well as other tissues, may lead to a further understanding of the mechanisms of necrosis as a form of programmed cell death.
