Mass Production of Drosophila Embryos and Chromatographic Purification of Native Protein Complexes

The purification of native protein complexes requires the availability of sufficient amounts of starting material. Drosophila melanogaster embryos have proven to be a rich source for nuclear protein complexes. Here we describe establishment and maintenance of a fly facility for the production of large amounts of embryos, protocols for the production of nuclear extracts, and a scheme for the chromatographic purification of a nuclear multisubunit protein complex.