Structural changes shaping the Drosophila ellipsoid body ER-neurons during development and aging

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Biology
• Insect Neurobiology

Background:

• The ellipsoid body (EB) in insect brains is crucial for navigation.
• Understanding EB neuron development and connectivity is essential but largely unknown.
• ER-neurons and columnar neurons form a highly ordered network within the EB.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail the developmental sequence of Drosophila ellipsoid body (EB) neurons.
• To analyze the trajectory of ER-neurons from pupal stages to aged adults.
• To investigate age-related changes in EB neuronal structure and connectivity.

Main Methods:

• Global analysis of ER-neuron and columnar neuron subclasses during development.
• Single-cell analysis using the multi-color flip out (MCFO) system.
• Examination of EB development at various pupal stages, young adults (4d), and aged adults (∼60d).

Main Results:

• The EB develops from anterior and posterior primordia (prEBa and prEBp).
• ER-neurons associate with EB primordia early, foreshadowing mature structure.
• Filopodia are initially long, pruned during pupation, and extraneous branches appear in aged brains.

Conclusions:

• The EB and ER-neurons provide a model for studying neuronal development and aging.
• Aging impacts EB neuronal structure, with extraneous branches and reduced synaptic connectivity.
• Upregulation of presynaptic protein (Brp) in ER-neurons is observed in aged brains.