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Recent Progress in the 3D Reconstruction of Drosophila Neural Circuits

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Decoding Neural Circuit Structure and Function

Abstract

The brain of fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been used as a model system for functional analysis of neuronal circuits, including connectomics research, due to its modest size (~700 μm) and availability of abundant molecular genetics tools for visualizing neurons. Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of high-resolution images of neurons or circuits visualized with appropriate methods is a critical step for obtaining information such as morphology and connectivity patterns of neuronal circuits. In this chapter, we introduce methods for generating 3D reconstructed images with data acquired from confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) or electron microscopy (EM) to analyze neuronal circuits found in the central nervous system (CNS) of the fruit fly. Comparisons of different algorithms and strategies for reconstructing neuronal circuits, using actual studies as references, will be discussed within this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. HHMI/Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, 20147, USA

    Kazunori Shinomiya & Masayoshi Ito

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  1. Kazunori Shinomiya
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  2. Masayoshi Ito
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Correspondence to Kazunori Shinomiya .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Boğaziçi University, Bebek, Istanbul, Turkey

    Arzu Çelik

  2. Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie, Pharmazie, Institut für Biologie—Neurobiologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Mathias F. Wernet

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Shinomiya, K., Ito, M. (2017). Recent Progress in the 3D Reconstruction of Drosophila Neural Circuits. In: Çelik, A., Wernet, M. (eds) Decoding Neural Circuit Structure and Function. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57363-2_3

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