Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Heritability and polygenic predictionIn the EUR sample, the SNP-based heritability (h 2 SNP ) (that is, the proportion of variance in liability attributable to all measured SNPs)

SUMMARY At a synapse, fast synchronous neurotransmitter release requires localization of Ca2+-channels to presynaptic active zones. How Ca2+-channels are recruited to active zones, however, remains unknown. Using unbiased yeast two-hybrid screens, we here identify a direct interaction of the central PDZ-domain of the active-zone protein RIM with the C-termini of presynaptic N- and P/Q-type Ca2+-channels, but not L-type Ca2+-channels. To test the physiological significance of this interaction, we generated conditional knockout mice lacking all presynaptic RIM isoforms. Deletion of all RIMs ablated most neurotransmitter release by simultaneously impairing the priming of synaptic vesicles and by decreasing the presynaptic localization of Ca2+-channels. Strikingly, rescue of the decreased Ca2+-channel localization required the RIM PDZ-domain, whereas rescue of vesicle priming required the RIM N-terminus. We propose that RIMs tether N- and P/Q-type Ca2+-channels to presynaptic active zones via a direct PDZ-domain mediated interaction, thereby enabling fast, synchronous triggering of neurotransmitter release at a synapse.

Graphical Abstract Highlights d SynGO is a public knowledge base and online analysis platform for synapse research d SynGO has annotated 1,112 genes with synaptic localization and/or function d SynGO genes are exceptionally large, well conserved, and intolerant to mutations d SynGO genes are strongly enriched among genes associated with brain disorders Correspondence guus.smit@cncr.vu.nl (A.B.S.), matthijs@cncr.vu.nl (M.V.) In BriefThe SynGO consortium presents a framework to annotate synaptic protein locations and functions and annotations for 1,112 synaptic genes based on published experimental evidence. SynGO reports exceptional features and disease associations for synaptic genes and provides an online data analysis platform. SUMMARYSynapses are fundamental information-processing units of the brain, and synaptic dysregulation is central to many brain disorders (''synaptopathies''). However, systematic annotation of synaptic genes and ontology of synaptic processes are currently lacking. We established SynGO, an interactive knowledge base that accumulates available research about synapse biology using Gene Ontology (GO) annotations to novel ontology terms: 87 synaptic locations and 179 synaptic processes. SynGO annotations are exclusively based on published, expert-curated evidence. Using 2,922 annotations for 1,112 genes, we show that synaptic genes are exceptionally well conserved and less tolerant to mutations than other genes. Many SynGO terms are significantly overrepresented among gene variations associated with intelligence, educational attainment, ADHD, autism, and bipolar disorder and among de novo variants associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, including schizophrenia. SynGO is a public, universal reference for synapse research and an online analysis platform for interpretation of large-scale -omics data (https://syngoportal.org and

Most neuronal communication relies upon the synchronous release of neurotransmitters, which occurs through synaptic vesicle exocytosis triggered by action potential invasion of a presynaptic bouton. However, neurotransmitters are also released asynchronously with a longer, variable delay following an action potential or spontaneously in the absence of action potentials. A compelling body of research has identified roles and mechanisms for synchronous release, but asynchronous release and spontaneous release are less well understood. In this review, we analyze how the mechanisms of the three release modes overlap and what molecular pathways underlie asynchronous and spontaneous release. We conclude that the modes of release have key fusion processes in common but may differ in the source of and necessity for Ca2+ to trigger release and in the identity of the Ca2+ sensor for release.