Abstract
Developmental programs have the fidelity to form neural circuits with the same structure and function among individuals of the same species. It is less well understood, however, to what extent entire neural circuits of different individuals are similar. Previously, we reported the neuronal connectome of the visual eye circuit from the head of a Platynereis dumerilii larva (Randel et al., 2014). We now report a full-body serial section transmission electron microscopy (ssTEM) dataset of another larva of the same age, for which we describe the connectome of the visual eyes and the larval eyespots. Anatomical comparisons and quantitative analyses of the two circuits reveal a high inter-individual stereotypy of the cell complement, neuronal projections, and synaptic connectivity, including the left-right asymmetry in the connectivity of some neurons. Our work shows the extent to which the eye circuitry in Platynereis larvae is hard-wired.
Highlights
Innate stereotypical behaviors commonly observed in animals (Jarrell et al, 2012; Kabra et al, 2013; Berman et al, 2014; Vogelstein et al, 2014; Zhang et al, 2014) rely on the precise wiring of neuronal circuits during development
A recent connectomic study found that the connectivity of interneurons mediating rolling behavior in Drosophila larvae were reproducible between two individuals (Ohyama et al, 2015)
The visual eye circuit of the second larva consists of 106 neurons, plus several ciliated and muscle effector cells (Video 1, Source code 1, and Figure 1—source data 1)
Summary
Innate stereotypical behaviors commonly observed in animals (Jarrell et al, 2012; Kabra et al, 2013; Berman et al, 2014; Vogelstein et al, 2014; Zhang et al, 2014) rely on the precise wiring of neuronal circuits during development. The stereotypy of neuronal circuits between individuals of the same species at the level of synaptic connectivity is not well known. Several studies have addressed nervous system stereotypy at the level of single neurons, neuronal projection patterns, or neuronal activity. In the zebrafish larval brain, neuronal spatiotemporal activity is highly stereotypical between individuals (Portugues et al, 2014). The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has stereotypical neuron types, axonal projection patterns, neuronal activity patterns and patterns of synaptic connectivity (Yu et al, 2010; Mosca and Luo, 2014; Zhang et al, 2014). Nematodes have a nervous system that is considered highly stereotypical (White et al, 1986)
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