Exploring lineages in the larval VNC

Author

Matthew Q. Clark

Goal

The goal of this lab is to understand how neural lineages help to build functional circuitry. Though the function of some of these neurons isn’t completely understood, having a connectivity map can help us generate hypotheses about circuit function and also learn about the developmental origins of these circuits

With a stable internet connection open CATMAID to access the L1 brain. For how-to movies see the first part of this module.

Pick a lineage:

Load the neurons that were studied in Mark et al. (2021)

Click on this widget:

  1. Open Neuron Search widget (key binding )
  2. Type in the “annotated” text field: Mark et al. 2019, push

Add neurons from your lineage to the selection table

Figure 1: Neurons from your Lineage to the Selection Table

Double check in your selection table that all the neurons from the lineage are loaded** published lineage neurons.

Open 3D Viewer widget (, click on all the neurons belonging to your lineage (e.g. A02b_a1l, A02c?_a1l, A02e_a1l, A02g_a1l, A02h_a1l etc.), click “Append” from “Neuron search” in the selection table.

Rotate view and turn on Z plane

Figure 2: Rotate View Turn on z Plane

Tip: at a point on the skeleton in 3D view to go to that point in the EM stack

Is your lineage homogenous or heterogenous?

Does it contain motor neurons, interneurons, sensory neurons or a mixture? Please show examples.

Find the entry point of the lineage into the neuropil and show it here:

Select a neuron that is the furthest from the entry point and one that is the closest.

Display them in different colors below

Is the neuron that is closest to the neuropil an early born neuron or a late born neuron?

Explain your rationale.

Do you think the early born neuron is part of the sensory or motor system?

Or a mix? Explain why:

Do you think the late born neuron is part of the sensory or motor system?

Or a mix? Explain why

For the early born neuron, show either a connectivity graph or display all pre- and post-synaptic neurons in different colors:

Figure 3: Show a connectivity graph

For the early born neuron, show either a connectivity graph or display all pre- and post-synaptic neurons in different colors:

For your pre- and post- synaptic of the early born neurons Export a movie and save it to your folder

Figure 4: Export a Movie

Useful widgets:

  • shows keyboard shortcuts
  • neuron search (‘/’ also opens this widget)
  • 3D viewer of selected skeletons (use this in conjunction with the widget to manage list of skeletons)
  • Display network of connectivity

Fun search terms:

  • Whole motor neurons at A1 segment akira
  • DNs from Brain akira
  • DNs from SEZ akira
  • et al

Other papers that have associated published neurons:

  • Zwart et al. (2016)
  • Masson et al. (2020)
  • Burgos et al. (2018)
  • Eschbach et al. (2020)
  • Carreira-Rosario et al. (2018)
  • Miroschnikow et al. (2018)
  • Zarin, Mark, Cardona, Litwin-Kumar, & Doe (2019)
  • Mark et al. (2021)
  • Berck et al. (2016)
  • Eichler et al. (2017)
  • Andrade et al. (2019)
  • Larderet et al. (2017)
  • Ohyama et al. (2015)
  • Jovanic et al. (2016)
  • Schlegel et al. (2016)
  • Jovanic et al. (2019)
  • Fushiki et al. (2016)
  • Takagi et al. (2017)
  • Tastekin et al. (2018)
  • Imambocus et al. (2022)
  • Kohsaka et al. (2019)
  • Heckscher et al. (2015)
  • Gerhard, Andrade, Fetter, Cardona, & Schneider-Mizell (2017)

References

Andrade, I. V., Riebli, N., Nguyen, B.-C. M., Omoto, J. J., Cardona, A., & Hartenstein, V. (2019). Developmentally arrested precursors of pontine neurons establish an embryonic blueprint of the drosophila central complex. Current Biology, 29(3), 412–425.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.12.012
Berck, M. E., Khandelwal, A., Claus, L., Hernandez-Nunez, L., Si, G., Tabone, C. J., … Cardona, A. (2016). The wiring diagram of a glomerular olfactory system. eLife, 5. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.14859
Burgos, A., Honjo, K., Ohyama, T., Qian, C. S., Shin, G. J., Gohl, D. M., … Grueber, W. B. (2018). Nociceptive interneurons control modular motor pathways to promote escape behavior in drosophila. eLife, 7. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.26016
Carreira-Rosario, A., Zarin, A. A., Clark, M. Q., Manning, L., Fetter, R. D., Cardona, A., & Doe, C. Q. (2018). MDN brain descending neurons coordinately activate backward and inhibit forward locomotion. eLife, 7. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.38554
Eichler, K., Li, F., Litwin-Kumar, A., Park, Y., Andrade, I., Schneider-Mizell, C. M., … Cardona, A. (2017). The complete connectome of a learning and memory centre in an insect brain. Nature, 548(7666), 175–182. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23455
Eschbach, C., Fushiki, A., Winding, M., Schneider-Mizell, C. M., Shao, M., Arruda, R., … Zlatic, M. (2020). Recurrent architecture for adaptive regulation of learning in the insect brain. Nature Neuroscience, 23(4), 544–555. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-0607-9
Fushiki, A., Zwart, M. F., Kohsaka, H., Fetter, R. D., Cardona, A., & Nose, A. (2016). A circuit mechanism for the propagation of waves of muscle contraction in drosophila. eLife, 5. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.13253
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Heckscher, E. S., Zarin, A. A., Faumont, S., Clark, M. Q., Manning, L., Fushiki, A., … Doe, C. Q. (2015). Even-skipped+ interneurons are core components of a sensorimotor circuit that maintains left-right symmetric muscle contraction amplitude. Neuron, 88(2), 314–329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.009
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Jovanic, T., Schneider-Mizell, C. M., Shao, M., Masson, J.-B., Denisov, G., Fetter, R. D., … Zlatic, M. (2016). Competitive disinhibition mediates behavioral choice and sequences in drosophila. Cell, 167(3), 858–870.e19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.09.009
Jovanic, T., Winding, M., Cardona, A., Truman, J. W., Gershow, M., & Zlatic, M. (2019). Neural substrates of drosophila larval anemotaxis. Current Biology, 29(4), 554–566.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.009
Kohsaka, H., Zwart, M. F., Fushiki, A., Fetter, R. D., Truman, J. W., Cardona, A., & Nose, A. (2019). Regulation of forward and backward locomotion through intersegmental feedback circuits in drosophila larvae. Nature Communications, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10695-y
Kohwi, M., Lupton, J. R., Lai, S.-L., Miller, M. R., & Doe, C. Q. (2013). Developmentally regulated subnuclear genome reorganization restricts neural progenitor competence in drosophila. Cell, 152(1–2), 97–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2012.11.049
Larderet, I., Fritsch, P. M., Gendre, N., Neagu-Maier, G. L., Fetter, R. D., Schneider-Mizell, C. M., … Sprecher, S. G. (2017). Organization of the drosophila larval visual circuit. eLife, 6. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.28387
Mark, B., Lai, S.-L., Zarin, A. A., Manning, L., Pollington, H. Q., Litwin-Kumar, A., … Doe, C. Q. (2021). A developmental framework linking neurogenesis and circuit formation in the drosophila CNS. eLife, 10. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.67510
Masson, J.-B., Laurent, F., Cardona, A., Barré, C., Skatchkovsky, N., Zlatic, M., & Jovanic, T. (2020). Identifying neural substrates of competitive interactions and sequence transitions during mechanosensory responses in drosophila. PLOS Genetics, 16(2), e1008589. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1008589
Miroschnikow, A., Schlegel, P., Schoofs, A., Hueckesfeld, S., Li, F., Schneider-Mizell, C. M., … Pankratz, M. J. (2018). Convergence of monosynaptic and polysynaptic sensory paths onto common motor outputs in a drosophila feeding connectome. eLife, 7. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.40247
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