Dendritic patterning by Dscam and synaptic partner matching in the Drosophila antennal lobe

Nat Neurosci. 2006 Mar;9(3):349-55. doi: 10.1038/nn1652. Epub 2006 Feb 12.

Abstract

In the olfactory system of Drosophila melanogaster, axons of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) and dendrites of second-order projection neurons typically target 1 of approximately 50 glomeruli. Dscam, an immunoglobulin superfamily protein, acts in ORNs to regulate axon targeting. Here we show that Dscam acts in projection neurons and local interneurons to control the elaboration of dendritic fields. The removal of Dscam selectively from projection neurons or local interneurons led to clumped dendrites and marked reduction in their dendritic field size. Overexpression of Dscam in projection neurons caused dendrites to be more diffuse during development and shifted their relative position in adulthood. Notably, the positional shift of projection neuron dendrites caused a corresponding shift of its partner ORN axons, thus maintaining the connection specificity. This observation provides evidence for a pre- and postsynaptic matching mechanism independent of precise glomerular positioning.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain / cytology
  • Brain / embryology*
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Cell Adhesion Molecules
  • Cell Differentiation / physiology*
  • Cell Shape / physiology
  • Dendrites / metabolism
  • Dendrites / ultrastructure*
  • Drosophila / cytology
  • Drosophila / embryology*
  • Drosophila / metabolism
  • Drosophila Proteins / genetics
  • Drosophila Proteins / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / physiology
  • Growth Cones / metabolism
  • Growth Cones / ultrastructure
  • Interneurons / cytology
  • Interneurons / metabolism
  • Olfactory Pathways / cytology
  • Olfactory Pathways / embryology
  • Olfactory Pathways / metabolism
  • Synapses / genetics
  • Synapses / metabolism*

Substances

  • Cell Adhesion Molecules
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Dscam1 protein, Drosophila