Characterizing a gene expression toolkit for eye- and photoreceptor-specific expression in Drosophila.

Binary expression systems are a powerful tool for tissue- and cell-specific research. Many of the currently available eye-specific drivers have not been systematically characterized for their expression level and cell-type specificity in the adult eye or during development. Here, we used a luciferase reporter to measure expression levels of different drivers in the adult eye, and characterized the cell type-specificity of each driver using a fluorescent reporter in live 10-day-old adult males.