Mass Spectrometric Imaging of GABA in the Drosophila melanogaster Adult Head

Drosophila melanogaster is a model organism in neurodegenerative disease research. In neurodegenerative study, the direct spatial information of neurotransmitters such as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain of Drosophila melanogaster is important to understand the role of GABA. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) is an attractive method for direct visualization of neurotransmitters. In this paper, we describe methods to visualize GABA in the brain and head of Drosophila melanogaster using MALDI-IMS.