DN-cadherin is required for spatial arrangement of nerve terminals and ultrastructural organization of synapses.
We studied roles of DN-cadherin, the Drosophila major neuronal cadherin, in neuronal connections in the visual system. In DN-cadherin mutants, axon terminals of a large subset of photoreceptor cells reached and associated with their target interneurons, but their characteristic spatial arrangement was disrupted as synaptogenesis proceeded. Although synapses were formed at contact sites between the axon terminals and target neurons, underlying cytoplasmic structures were not fully specialized at both pre- and postsynaptic terminals and synaptic vesicles appeared to accumulate at the presynapses. These results suggest that the cadherin adhesion system is required for interaction between pre- and postsynaptic terminals and for generation of the mature synaptic structures.
Iwai
Youichi
Y
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
Hirota
Yuki
Y
Ozaki
Koichi
K
Okano
Hideyuki
H
Takeichi
Masatoshi
M
Uemura
Tadashi
T
D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004330:Drosophila; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D020125:Mutation, Missense; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017956:Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000235:genetics; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development
D015820:Cadherins