Abstract
During metamorphosis, the transition from the larva to the adult, the insect brain undergoes considerable remodeling: new neurons are integrated while larval neurons are remodeled or eliminated. One well acknowledged model to study metamorphic brain development is the sphinx moth Manduca sexta. To further understand mechanisms involved in the metamorphic transition of the brain we generated a 3D standard brain based on selected brain areas of adult females and 3D reconstructed the same areas during defined stages of pupal development. Selected brain areas include for example mushroom bodies, central complex, antennal- and optic lobes. With this approach we eventually want to quantify developmental changes in neuropilar architecture, but also quantify changes in the neuronal complement and monitor the development of selected neuronal populations. Furthermore, we used a modeling software (Cinema 4D) to create a virtual 4D brain, morphing through its developmental stages. Thus the didactical advantages of 3D visualization are expanded to better comprehend complex processes of neuropil formation and remodeling during development. To obtain datasets of the M. sexta brain areas, we stained whole brains with an antiserum against the synaptic vesicle protein synapsin. Such labeled brains were then scanned with a confocal laser scanning microscope and selected neuropils were reconstructed with the 3D software AMIRA 4.1.
Highlights
Brains are typically organized in defined neuropils, which can usually be characterized by their spatial location, gross anatomy, and often by a certain function and brains of evolutionary related animals typically share a similar neuroarchitecture
Because early metamorphic development coincides with more obvious structural changes, these phases were resolved with higher temporal resolution
During the approximately 3 weeks of pupal development, the Manduca brain undergoes an enormous increase in size, which is largely due to the development of the optic lobes (Figure 1)
Summary
Brains are typically organized in defined neuropils, which can usually be characterized by their spatial location, gross anatomy, and often by a certain function and brains of evolutionary related animals typically share a similar neuroarchitecture. The formation of brain neuropils including their location and interconnections follows a minute pattern in time and space orchestrated by complex (genetical) programs which eventually give rise to the adult brain structures. To understand further the mechanisms involved in transforming a larval to an adult brain, we have mapped the anatomical changes of selected brain areas throughout metamorphosis of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta. A comprehensive view which compares the anatomical changes of all these brain neuropils throughout metamorphic development is missing. The aim of the current study was to visualize the anatomical changes of discernable brain areas in parallel and to provide a tool which allows a comparison of these changes along the developmental time line
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