A pair of commissural command neurons induces Drosophila wing grooming

Zhang, Neil; Simpson, Jeffrey H.

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.103792

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…Most of these are again restricted to the given leg neuropil but some project from other areas of the VNC to the T1 or T3 leg circuits. One of these is the previously described wing grooming neurons wPN1, that project from the Ov to the T3 leg premotor circuit (Zhang and Simpson, 2022) (see example INXXX011, Figure 14–Supplement 1B, D).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…C. Neurons that innervate all leg neuropils (see Figure 14E) split by type. D. Example images from ventral and side view for neuron types with red stroke around the node in A, B or C. The first example shows a neuron projecting from the ovoid to the T3 leg neuropil, involved in wing grooming (Zhang and Simpson, 2022).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The morphology and connectivity of these sequential neurons strongly suggests that they coordinate legs across segments. In (Zhang and Simpson, 2022).…”

Section: Inter-leg Coordination Is Not Purely Inhibitorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transforming descending input into behavior: The organization of premotor circuits in theDrosophilaMale Adult Nerve Cord connectome

Cheong

Eichler

Stuerner

et al. 2023

Preprint

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In most animals, a relatively small number of descending neurons (DNs) connect higher brain centers in the animal's head to motor neurons (MNs) in the nerve cord of the animal's body that effect movement of the limbs. To understand how brain signals generate behavior, it is critical to understand how these descending pathways are organized onto the body MNs. In the fly, Drosophila melanogaster, MNs controlling muscles in the leg, wing, and other motor systems reside in a ventral nerve cord (VNC), analogous to the mammalian spinal cord. In companion papers, we introduced a densely-reconstructed connectome of the Drosophila Male Adult Nerve Cord (MANC, Takemura et al., 2023), including cell type and developmental lineage annotation (Marin et al., 2023), which provides complete VNC connectivity at synaptic resolution. Here, we present a first look at the organization of the VNC networks connecting DNs to MNs based on this new connectome information. We proofread and curated all DNs and MNs to ensure accuracy and reliability, then systematically matched DN axon terminals and MN dendrites with light microscopy data to link their VNC morphology with their brain inputs or muscle targets. We report both broad organizational patterns of the entire network and fine-scale analysis of selected circuits of interest. We discover that direct DN-MN connections are infrequent and identify communities of intrinsic neurons linked to control of different motor systems, including putative ventral circuits for walking, dorsal circuits for flight steering and power generation, and intermediate circuits in the lower tectulum for coordinated action of wings and legs. Our analysis generates hypotheses for future functional experiments and, together with the MANC connectome, empowers others to investigate these and other circuits of the Drosophila ventral nerve cord in richer mechanistic detail.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transforming descending input into behavior: The organization of premotor circuits in theDrosophilaMale Adult Nerve Cord connectome

Cheong

Eichler

Stuerner

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Recently, we and others have explored the neural bases of grooming. From neuronal activation screens with temperature-sensitive or optogenetic tools, we identified some command-like neurons that trigger grooming (Seeds et al 2014, Hampel et al 2015, Guo et al 2022, Zhang et al 2022). We also have connectome data that allows us to locate neurons of potential interest based on their connectivity to map the neural circuitry (Phelps et al 2021, Azevedo et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…al. 2014, Hampel et al 2015, Guo et al 2022,Zhang et al 2022), suggesting that each cleaning action can be separately controlled. But the neural basis for implementing the action hierarchy that results in sequential progression was unknown.…”

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confidence: 99%

Mechanosensory and command contributions to theDrosophilagrooming sequence

Yoshikawa,

Tang,

Simpson

2023

Preprint

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SUMMARYFlies groom in response to competing mechanosensory cues in an anterior to posterior order using specific legs. From behavior screens, we identified a pair of cholinergic command-like neurons, Mago-no-Te (MGT), whose optogenetic activation elicits thoracic grooming by hind legs. Thoracic grooming is typically composed of body sweeps and leg rubs in alternation, but clonal analysis coupled with amputation experiments revealed that MGT activation only commands the body sweeps: initiation of leg rubbing requires contact between leg and thorax. With new electron microscopy (EM) connectome data for the ventral nerve cord (VNC), we uncovered a circuit-based explanation for why stimulation of posterior thoracic mechanosensory bristles initiates cleaning by the hind legs. Our previous work showed that flies weigh mechanosensory inputs across the body to select which part to groom, but we did not know why the thorax was always cleaned last. Here, the connectome for the VNC enabled us to identify a pair of GABAergic inhibitory neurons, UMGT1, that receive diverse sensory inputs and synapse onto both MGT and components of its downstream pre-motor circuits. Optogenetic activation of UMGT1 suppresses thoracic cleaning, representing a mechanism by which mechanosensory stimuli on other body parts could take precedence in the grooming hierarchy. We also mapped the pre-motor circuit downstream of MGT, including inhibitory feedback connections that may enable rhythmicity and coordination of limb movement during thoracic grooming.

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Altered Grooming Cycles in Transgenic Drosophila

Ringo,

Segal

2024

Behav Genet

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A pair of commissural command neurons induces Drosophila wing grooming

Cited by 15 publications

References 37 publications

Transforming descending input into behavior: The organization of premotor circuits in theDrosophilaMale Adult Nerve Cord connectome

Transforming descending input into behavior: The organization of premotor circuits in theDrosophilaMale Adult Nerve Cord connectome

Mechanosensory and command contributions to theDrosophilagrooming sequence

Altered Grooming Cycles in Transgenic Drosophila

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