Developmental analysis of the dopamine-containing neurons of the Drosophila brain

The Drosophila dopaminergic (DAergic) system consists of a relatively small number of neurons clustered throughout the brain and ventral nerve cord. Previous work shows that clusters of DA neurons innervate different brain compartments, which in part accounts for functional diversity of the DA system. We analyzed the association between DA neuron clusters and specific brain lineages, developmental and structural units of the Drosophila brain that provide a framework of connections that can be followed throughout development. The hatching larval brain contains six groups of primary DA neurons (born in the embryo), which we assign to six distinct lineages. We can show that all larval DA clusters persist into the adult brain. Some clusters increase in cell number during late larval stages, whereas others do not become DA positive until early pupa. Ablating neuroblasts with hydroxyurea (HU) prior to onset of larval proliferation (generates secondary neurons) confirms that these added DA clusters are primary neurons born in the embryo, rather than secondary neurons. A single cluster that becomes DA positive in the late pupa, PAM1/lineage DALcm1/2, forms part of a secondary lineage that can be ablated by larval HU application. By supplying lineage information for each DA cluster, our analysis promotes further developmental and functional analyses of this important system of neurons. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:363-379, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.