Lenses were vibratome sectioned into 100–200 μm thick sections along the optical (anterior to posterior) or equatorial axes. Thick sections were fixed in 2% (w/v) paraformaldehyde and 2% glutaraldehyde (v/v) in 0.1 M sodium cacodylate buffer pH 7.2 at RT for 24 hrs then washed several times in Tris buffered saline (0.5 M Tris, 150 mM NaCl, pH 7.4). To visualize lipid membranes, sections were stained with 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate ('DiI';DiIC18; Molecular Probes) as previously described [24]. Sections were then washed several times with Tris buffered saline, and nucleic acids were stained by incubating sections in TBS containing 1 μM SYTOX Green (Molecular Probes) for 10 min at RT followed by several washes with TBS prior to confocal imaging.