@article {68964,
	title = {Brain wiring determinants uncovered by integrating connectomes and transcriptomes.},
	journal = {Current Biology},
	volume = {33},
	year = {2023},
	month = {2023 Aug 23},
	pages = {3998-3998},
	abstract = {<p>Advances in brain connectomics have demonstrated the extraordinary complexity of neural circuits. Developing neurons encounter the axons and dendrites of many different neuron types and form synapses with only a subset of them. During circuit assembly, neurons express cell-type-specific repertoires comprising many cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) that can mediate interactions between developing neurites. Many CAM families have been shown to contribute to brain wiring in different ways. It has been challenging, however, to identify receptor-ligand pairs directly matching neurons with their synaptic targets. Here, we integrated the synapse-level connectome of the neural circuit with the developmental expression patterns and binding specificities of CAMs on pre- and postsynaptic neurons in the Drosophila visual system. To overcome the complexity of neural circuits, we focus on pairs of genetically related neurons that make differential wiring choices. In the motion detection circuit, closely related subtypes of T4/T5 neurons choose between alternative synaptic targets in adjacent layers of neuropil. This choice correlates with the matching expression in synaptic partners of different receptor-ligand pairs of the Beat and Side families of CAMs. Genetic analysis demonstrated that presynaptic Side-II and postsynaptic Beat-VI restrict synaptic partners to the same layer. Removal of this receptor-ligand pair disrupts layers and leads to inappropriate targeting of presynaptic sites and postsynaptic dendrites. We propose that different Side/Beat receptor-ligand pairs collaborate with other recognition molecules to determine wiring specificities in the fly brain. Combining transcriptomes, connectomes, and protein interactome maps allow unbiased identification of determinants of brain wiring.</p>
},
	issn = {1879-0445},
	doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.020},
	author = {Yoo, Juyoun and Dombrovski, Mark and Mirshahidi, Parmis and Nern, Aljoscha and LoCascio, Samuel A and Zipursky, S Lawrence and Kurmangaliyev, Yerbol Z}
}
@article {68566,
	title = {Synaptic gradients transform object location to action.},
	journal = {Nature},
	volume = {613},
	year = {2023},
	month = {2023 Jan 04},
	pages = {534-42},
	abstract = {<p>To survive, animals must convert sensory information into appropriate behaviours. Vision is a common sense for locating ethologically relevant stimuli and guiding motor responses. How circuitry converts object location in retinal coordinates to movement direction in body coordinates remains largely unknown. Here we show through behaviour, physiology, anatomy and connectomics in Drosophila that visuomotor transformation occurs by conversion of topographic maps formed by the dendrites of feature-detecting visual projection neurons (VPNs) into synaptic weight gradients of VPN outputs onto central brain neurons. We demonstrate how this gradient motif transforms the anteroposterior location of a visual looming stimulus into the fly{\textquoteright}s directional escape. Specifically, we discover that two neurons postsynaptic to a looming-responsive VPN type promote opposite takeoff directions. Opposite synaptic weight gradients onto these neurons from looming VPNs in different visual field regions convert localized looming threats into correctly oriented escapes. For a second looming-responsive VPN type, we demonstrate graded responses along the dorsoventral axis. We show that this synaptic gradient motif generalizes across all 20 primary VPN cell types and most often arises without VPN axon topography. Synaptic gradients may thus be a general mechanism for conveying spatial features of sensory information into directed motor outputs.</p>
},
	issn = {1476-4687},
	doi = {10.1038/s41586-022-05562-8},
	author = {Dombrovski, Mark and Peek, Martin Y and Park, Jin-Yong and Vaccari, Andrea and Sumathipala, Marissa and Morrow, Carmen and Breads, Patrick and Zhao, Arthur and Kurmangaliyev, Yerbol Z and Sanfilippo, Piero and Rehan, Aadil and Polsky, Jason and Alghailani, Shada and Tenshaw, Emily and Namiki, Shigehiro and Zipursky, S Lawrence and Card, Gwyneth M}
}
