Presenter(s):Nelson Perez − Biology
Faculty Mentor(s): Arnaldo Carreira-Rosario, Chis Doe
Oral Session 2SW
Research Area: Natural sciences, Neuroscience, Biology, Developmental Biology
Funding: HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute), SPUR Program
Neuronal networks become active before they are fully functional. This is known as patterned spontaneous network activity (PaSNA), an event characterized by quiescent periods followed by bursts of activity. Many studies have demonstrated the importance of PaSNA for proper neuronal circuit assembly. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms underlying PaSNA.
In the Drosophila ventral nerve cord (spinal cord for invertebrate counterpart) PaSNA occurs during late embryonic stages. During PaSNA, embryos exhibit intermittent episodes of uncoordinated motor activity that gradually mature into crawling waves. Concomitantly with wave maturation, more neurons become active during PaSNA. The identity of these neurons and function during PaSNA remains unknown. To identify which cells undergo PaSNA and their function during circuit assembly, we are screening for GAL4 lines, which maintain expression in small subsets of neurons from the onset of PaSNA until the circuit is fully assembled. We have identified several GAL4 lines suitable for our experiments. Using in vivo calcium imaging, we identified that the neurons labeled by one of these lines participates in PaSNA. Four other lines have been identified as good candidates for future experiments that involve calcium imaging and tracking of synapsis formation during PaSNA. This represents a unique tool to study PaSNA and its role in circuit formation.