Dextran-based Embryo Permeability Assay

Embryos were incubated with Texas Red 3000 MW lysin-fixable dextran (Thermo Fisher Scientific, D3328), Texas Red 10,000 MW neutral dextran (Thermo Fisher Scientific, D1828), and Texas Red 70,000 MW neutral dextran (Thermo Fisher Scientific, D1830). Permeability was analyzed as described by Olson et al. (2012) (link) with small modifications. Dextran solutions were diluted in 0.7× egg salt buffer and adjusted to 1.25 mg/mL. The embryos were incubated in dextran solutions for 30 min in the dark at room temperature. After rinsing in 0.7× egg salt buffer, embryos were imaged under a confocal microscope (ZEISS, LSM 880 with AiryScan).