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Phelps JS, Hildebrand DGC, Graham BJ, Kuan AT, Thomas LA, Nguyen TM, Buhmann J, Azevedo AW, Sustar A, Agrawal S, Liu M, Shanny BL, Funke J, Tuthill JC, Lee WCA. Reconstruction of motor control circuits in adult Drosophila using automated transmission electron microscopy. Cell 2021; 184:759-774.e18. [PMID: 33400916 PMCID: PMC8312698 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
To investigate circuit mechanisms underlying locomotor behavior, we used serial-section electron microscopy (EM) to acquire a synapse-resolution dataset containing the ventral nerve cord (VNC) of an adult female Drosophila melanogaster. To generate this dataset, we developed GridTape, a technology that combines automated serial-section collection with automated high-throughput transmission EM. Using this dataset, we studied neuronal networks that control leg and wing movements by reconstructing all 507 motor neurons that control the limbs. We show that a specific class of leg sensory neurons synapses directly onto motor neurons with the largest-caliber axons on both sides of the body, representing a unique pathway for fast limb control. We provide open access to the dataset and reconstructions registered to a standard atlas to permit matching of cells between EM and light microscopy data. We also provide GridTape instrumentation designs and software to make large-scale EM more accessible and affordable to the scientific community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasper S Phelps
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Program in Neuroscience, Division of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - David Grant Colburn Hildebrand
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Program in Neuroscience, Division of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Brett J Graham
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Aaron T Kuan
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Logan A Thomas
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Tri M Nguyen
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Julia Buhmann
- HHMI Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Anthony W Azevedo
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Anne Sustar
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Sweta Agrawal
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Mingguan Liu
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Brendan L Shanny
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jan Funke
- HHMI Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - John C Tuthill
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Wei-Chung Allen Lee
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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