RESUMEN
Complex dendritic trees are a distinctive feature of neurons. Alterations to dendritic morphology are associated with developmental, behavioral and neurodegenerative changes. The highly-arborized PVD neuron of C. elegans serves as a model to study dendritic patterning; however, quantitative, objective and automated analyses of PVD morphology are missing. Here, we present a method for neuronal feature extraction, based on deep-learning and fitting algorithms. The extracted neuronal architecture is represented by a database of structural elements for abstracted analysis. We obtain excellent automatic tracing of PVD trees and uncover that dendritic junctions are unevenly distributed. Surprisingly, these junctions are three-way-symmetrical on average, while dendritic processes are arranged orthogonally. We quantify the effect of mutation in git-1, a regulator of dendritic spine formation, on PVD morphology and discover a localized reduction in junctions. Our findings shed new light on PVD architecture, demonstrating the effectiveness of our objective analyses of dendritic morphology and suggest molecular control mechanisms.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolismo , Caenorhabditis elegans/crecimiento & desarrollo , Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolismo , Proteínas Portadoras/metabolismo , Dendritas/metabolismo , Algoritmos , Animales , Conducta Animal/fisiología , Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Proteínas Portadoras/genética , Biología Computacional , Dendritas/genética , Dendritas/ultraestructura , Modelos Neurológicos , Mutación , Redes Neurales de la Computación , Neurogénesis/genética , Neurogénesis/fisiología , Plasticidad Neuronal/genética , Plasticidad Neuronal/fisiología , Neuronas/metabolismo , Neuronas/ultraestructura , FenotipoRESUMEN
The structural and functional properties of neurons have intrigued scientists since the pioneering work of Santiago Ramón y Cajal. Since then, emerging cutting-edge technologies, including light and electron microscopy, electrophysiology, biochemistry, optogenetics, and molecular biology, have dramatically increased our understanding of dendritic properties. This advancement was also facilitated by the establishment of different animal model organisms, from flies to mammals. Here we describe the emerging model system of a Caenorhabditis elegans polymodal neuron named PVD, whose dendritic tree follows a stereotypical structure characterized by repeating candelabra-like structural units. In the past decade, progress has been made in understanding PVD's functions, morphogenesis, regeneration, and aging, yet many questions still remain.