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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Viral Tracing of Genetically Defined Neural Circuitry
Published on: October 17, 2012
Retrograde neuronal tracing with a deletion-mutant rabies virus
Ian R Wickersham1, Stefan Finke, Karl-Klaus Conzelmann
1Systems Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, California 92037, USA. iwickersham@salk.edu
Abstract:
We have constructed a deletion-mutant rabies virus encoding EGFP and find it to be an excellent tool for studying detailed morphology and physiology of neurons projecting to injection sites within the mammalian brain. The virus cannot spread beyond initially infected cells yet, unlike other viral vectors, replicates its core within them. The cells therefore fluoresce intensely, revealing fine dendritic and axonal structure with no background from partially or faintly labeled cells.
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