Origin of wiring specificity in an olfactory map revealed by neuron type-specific, time-lapse imaging of dendrite targeting

  1. Kenneth Kin Lam Wong
  2. Tongchao Li  Is a corresponding author
  3. Tian-Ming Fu
  4. Gaoxiang Liu
  5. Cheng Lyu
  6. Sayeh Kohani
  7. Qijing Xie
  8. David J Luginbuhl
  9. Srigokul Upadhyayula
  10. Eric Betzig
  11. Liqun Luo  Is a corresponding author
  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, United States
  2. Janelia Research Campus, United States
  3. University of California, Berkeley, United States

Abstract

How does wiring specificity of neural maps emerge during development? Formation of the adult Drosophila olfactory glomerular map begins with patterning of projection neuron (PN) dendrites at the early pupal stage. To better understand the origin of wiring specificity of this map, we created genetic tools to systematically characterize dendrite patterning across development at PN type-specific resolution. We find that PNs use lineage and birth order combinatorially to build the initial dendritic map. Specifically, birth order directs dendrite targeting in rotating and binary manners for PNs of the anterodorsal and lateral lineages, respectively. Two-photon- and adaptive optical lattice light-sheet microscope-based time-lapse imaging reveals that PN dendrites initiate active targeting with direction-dependent branch stabilization on the timescale of seconds. Moreover, PNs that are used in both the larval and adult olfactory circuits prune their larval-specific dendrites and re-extend new dendrites simultaneously to facilitate timely olfactory map organization. Our work highlights the power and necessity of type-specific neuronal access and time-lapse imaging in identifying wiring mechanisms that underlie complex patterns of functional neural maps.

Data availability

Figure 3 - Source Data 1, Figure 5 - Source Data 1, Figure 6 - Source Data 1, and Figure 7 - Source Data 1 contain the numerical and statistical data used to generate the figures.

The following previously published data sets were used

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Kenneth Kin Lam Wong

    1Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  2. Tongchao Li

    1Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
    For correspondence
    ltongchao@outlook.com
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  3. Tian-Ming Fu

    Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-6265-0859
  4. Gaoxiang Liu

    Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  5. Cheng Lyu

    Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  6. Sayeh Kohani

    Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  7. Qijing Xie

    Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  8. David J Luginbuhl

    Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  9. Srigokul Upadhyayula

    Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  10. Eric Betzig

    Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  11. Liqun Luo

    Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
    For correspondence
    lluo@stanford.edu
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-5467-9264

Funding

National Institutes of Health (R01 DC005982)

  • Liqun Luo

Philomathia Foundation

  • Gaoxiang Liu
  • Srigokul Upadhyayula

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

  • Srigokul Upadhyayula

National Institutes of Health (1K99DC01883001)

  • Tongchao Li

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

  • Eric Betzig
  • Liqun Luo

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Copyright

© 2023, Wong et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

Metrics

  • 2,919
    views
  • 441
    downloads
  • 4
    citations

Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.

Download links

A two-part list of links to download the article, or parts of the article, in various formats.

Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)

Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)

Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)

  1. Kenneth Kin Lam Wong
  2. Tongchao Li
  3. Tian-Ming Fu
  4. Gaoxiang Liu
  5. Cheng Lyu
  6. Sayeh Kohani
  7. Qijing Xie
  8. David J Luginbuhl
  9. Srigokul Upadhyayula
  10. Eric Betzig
  11. Liqun Luo
(2023)
Origin of wiring specificity in an olfactory map revealed by neuron type-specific, time-lapse imaging of dendrite targeting
eLife 12:e85521.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.85521

Share this article

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.85521

Further reading

    1. Developmental Biology
    Saira Amir, Olatunbosun Arowolo ... Alexander Suvorov
    Research Article

    Over the past several decades, a trend toward delayed childbirth has led to increases in parental age at the time of conception. Sperm epigenome undergoes age-dependent changes increasing risks of adverse conditions in offspring conceived by fathers of advanced age. The mechanism(s) linking paternal age with epigenetic changes in sperm remain unknown. The sperm epigenome is shaped in a compartment protected by the blood-testes barrier (BTB) known to deteriorate with age. Permeability of the BTB is regulated by the balance of two mTOR complexes in Sertoli cells where mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) promotes the opening of the BTB and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2) promotes its integrity. We hypothesized that this balance is also responsible for age-dependent changes in the sperm epigenome. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed reproductive outcomes, including sperm DNA methylation in transgenic mice with Sertoli cell-specific suppression of mTORC1 (Rptor KO) or mTORC2 (Rictor KO). mTORC2 suppression accelerated aging of the sperm DNA methylome and resulted in a reproductive phenotype concordant with older age, including decreased testes weight and sperm counts, and increased percent of morphologically abnormal spermatozoa and mitochondrial DNA copy number. Suppression of mTORC1 resulted in the shift of DNA methylome in sperm opposite to the shift associated with physiological aging – sperm DNA methylome rejuvenation and mild changes in sperm parameters. These results demonstrate for the first time that the balance of mTOR complexes in Sertoli cells regulates the rate of sperm epigenetic aging. Thus, mTOR pathway in Sertoli cells may be used as a novel target of therapeutic interventions to rejuvenate the sperm epigenome in advanced-age fathers.

    1. Cell Biology
    2. Developmental Biology
    Sarah Rubin, Ankit Agrawal ... Elazar Zelzer
    Research Article

    Chondrocyte columns, which are a hallmark of growth plate architecture, play a central role in bone elongation. Columns are formed by clonal expansion following rotation of the division plane, resulting in a stack of cells oriented parallel to the growth direction. In this work, we analyzed hundreds of Confetti multicolor clones in growth plates of mouse embryos using a pipeline comprising 3D imaging and algorithms for morphometric analysis. Surprisingly, analysis of the elevation angles between neighboring pairs of cells revealed that most cells did not display the typical stacking pattern associated with column formation, implying incomplete rotation of the division plane. Morphological analysis revealed that although embryonic clones were elongated, they formed clusters oriented perpendicular to the growth direction. Analysis of growth plates of postnatal mice revealed both complex columns, composed of ordered and disordered cell stacks, and small, disorganized clusters located in the outer edges. Finally, correlation between the temporal dynamics of the ratios between clusters and columns and between bone elongation and expansion suggests that clusters may promote expansion, whereas columns support elongation. Overall, our findings support the idea that modulations of division plane rotation of proliferating chondrocytes determines the formation of either clusters or columns, a multifunctional design that regulates morphogenesis throughout pre- and postnatal bone growth. Broadly, this work provides a new understanding of the cellular mechanisms underlying growth plate activity and bone elongation during development.