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Updated: May 9, 2025

Author Spotlight: Exploring Glial Influence in Experience-Dependent Synaptic Pruning During Critical Periods
Published on: March 1, 2024
Dimensionality reduction simplifies synaptic partner matching in an olfactory circuit
Cheng Lyu1,2, Zhuoran Li1,2,3, Chuanyun Xu1,2,3
1Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Abstract:
A navigating axon faces complex choices when selecting postsynaptic partners in a three-dimensional (3D) space. In this work, we discovered a principle that can establish the 3D glomerular map of the fly antennal lobe by reducing the higher dimensionality serially to 1D projections. During development, olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) axons first contact their partner projection neuron dendrites on the spherical surface of the antennal lobe, regardless of whether the adult glomeruli lie near the surface or inside. Along this 2D surface, axons of each ORN type take a specific, arc-shaped trajectory that precisely intersects with their partner dendrites. Altering axon trajectories compromises synaptic partner matching. A 3D search is thus reduced to one dimension, simplifying partner matching.
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