Reconstruction of motor control circuits in adult Drosophila using automated transmission electron microscopy

Phelps, Jasper S., David Grant Colburn Hildebrand, Brett J. Graham, Aaron T. Kuan, Logan A. Thomas, Tri Nguyen, Julia Buhmann, et al. 2021. “Reconstruction of motor control circuits in adult Drosophila using automated transmission electron microscopy”. Cell 184 (3): 759–774.

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.
Last updated on 02/27/2023