Filopodial dynamics and growth cone stabilization in Drosophila visual circuit development

Filopodial dynamics are thought to control growth cone guidance, but the types and roles of growth cone dynamics underlying neural circuit assembly in a living brain are largely unknown. To address this issue, we have developed long-term, continuous, fast and high-resolution imaging of growth cone d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:eLife 2015-10, Vol.4
Main Authors: Özel, Mehmet Neset, Langen, Marion, Hassan, Bassem A, Hiesinger, P Robin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animals
Axon guidance
Brain
brain development
Cadherins
Cadherins - metabolism
Cones
Cones (Photoreceptors)
Datasets
Dislocation
Drosophila
Drosophila - embryology
Drosophila Proteins - metabolism
Filopodia
filopodial dynamics
growth cone
Growth cones
Growth Cones - physiology
Insects
live Imaging
N-Cadherin
Neuroimaging
Neuroscience
Neurosciences
Optical Imaging
Photoreceptors
Physiological aspects
Pseudopodia - physiology
Roles
Stochasticity
synapse formation
Synapses
Synaptogenesis
Target recognition
Visual pathways
Visual Pathways - embryology
Zoological research
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Summary:Filopodial dynamics are thought to control growth cone guidance, but the types and roles of growth cone dynamics underlying neural circuit assembly in a living brain are largely unknown. To address this issue, we have developed long-term, continuous, fast and high-resolution imaging of growth cone dynamics from axon growth to synapse formation in cultured Drosophila brains. Using R7 photoreceptor neurons as a model we show that >90% of the growth cone filopodia exhibit fast, stochastic dynamics that persist despite ongoing stepwise layer formation. Correspondingly, R7 growth cones stabilize early and change their final position by passive dislocation. N-Cadherin controls both fast filopodial dynamics and growth cone stabilization. Surprisingly, loss of N-Cadherin causes no primary targeting defects, but destabilizes R7 growth cones to jump between correct and incorrect layers. Hence, growth cone dynamics can influence wiring specificity without a direct role in target recognition and implement simple rules during circuit assembly.
ISSN:2050-084X
2050-084X
DOI:10.7554/elife.10721