In Situ Quantification and Isolation of Müller Glial Cells by Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting from the Regenerating Larval Zebrafish Retina

Müller glia (MG) are a relatively quiescent radial glial cell population capable of dedifferentiating to regenerate cells in the zebrafish retina that are lost due to damage. Here, we provide a protocol to both quantify MG cell dedifferentiation behavior during a regenerative response and isolate MG cells by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). First, the retina is exposed to high-intensity light to induce retinal damage and either processed for immunohistochemistry or live MG cells are isolated by FACS that can be used for subsequent genomic or transcriptomic analyses. This method allows us to correlate MG cell behavior observed in situ with their transcriptomic profile at different stages during the regenerative response.