Neurons must be made in the correct proportions to communicate with the appropriate synaptic partners and form functional circuits. In the Drosophila visual system, multiple subtypes of distal medulla (Dm) inhibitory interneurons are made in distinct, reproducible numbers-from 5 to 800 per optic lobe. These neurons are born from a crescent-shaped neuroepithelium called the outer proliferation center (OPC), which can be subdivided into specific domains based on transcription factor and growth factor expression. We fate mapped Dm neurons and found that more abundant neural types are born from larger neuroepithelial subdomains, while less abundant subtypes are born from smaller ones. Additionally, morphogenetic Dpp/BMP signaling provides a second layer of patterning that subdivides the neuroepithelium into smaller domains to provide more granular control of cell proportions. Apoptosis appears to play a minor role in regulating Dm neuron abundance. This work describes an underappreciated mechanism for the regulation of neuronal stoichiometry.
Keyphrases
- growth factor
- gestational age
- low birth weight
- spinal cord
- transcription factor
- poor prognosis
- oxidative stress
- single cell
- signaling pathway
- preterm infants
- mesenchymal stem cells
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- cell death
- preterm birth
- cell therapy
- cell cycle arrest
- stem cells
- optical coherence tomography
- minimally invasive
- blood brain barrier
- cell fate
- dna binding
- binding protein
- skeletal muscle
- metabolic syndrome
- adipose tissue
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- hiv testing
- men who have sex with men
- human immunodeficiency virus
- genome wide identification