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Fly photoreceptor synapses: their development, evolution, and plasticity.

I A Meinertzhagen1

  • 1Life Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Journal of Neurobiology
|July 1, 1989
PubMed
Summary
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Synapse development in flies involves adding postsynaptic elements during synaptogenesis and evolution. The number of synaptic sites changes with age and visual experience.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Photoreceptor terminal synapses in the first optic neuropile of Musca and Drosophila flies are crucial for visual processing.
  • These synapses exhibit a postsynaptic tetrad structure with P-face particle membrane organization, characteristic of inhibitory synapses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent studies on the structure, development, regulation, and plasticity of photoreceptor terminal synapses.
  • To understand the evolutionary and developmental processes shaping these synaptic connections.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative anatomical analysis of synaptic structures in Diptera.
  • Investigation of synaptic site regulation by pre- and postsynaptic cells.
  • Examination of synaptic changes related to age and visual experience in fly models.

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Main Results:

  • Synaptogenesis involves the sequential addition of postsynaptic elements, evolving from ancestral dyads.
  • Synaptic site number is proportional to cell surface area and influenced by receptor terminal size (e.g., Drosophila mutant gigas).
  • Synaptic site numbers decrease with age, while remaining sites enlarge; dark rearing increases feedback synapses compared to visual experience.

Conclusions:

  • Photoreceptor terminal synapse development is a dynamic process involving cellular regulation and evolutionary adaptation.
  • Age and visual experience significantly modulate the number and size of synaptic sites, impacting visual system function.