title: Atlas-builder software and the eNeuro atlas: resources for developmental biology and neuroscience.
abstract: A major limitation in understanding embryonic development is the lack of cell type-specific markers. Existing gene expression and marker atlases provide valuable tools, but they typically have one or more limitations: a lack of single-cell resolution; an inability to register multiple expression patterns to determine their precise relationship; an inability to be upgraded by users; an inability to compare novel patterns with the database patterns; and a lack of three-dimensional images. Here, we develop new 'atlas-builder' software that overcomes each of these limitations. A newly generated atlas is three-dimensional, allows the precise registration of an infinite number of cell type-specific markers, is searchable and is open-ended. Our software can be used to create an atlas of any tissue in any organism that contains stereotyped cell positions. We used the software to generate an 'eNeuro' atlas of the Drosophila embryonic CNS containing eight transcription factors that mark the major CNS cell types (motor neurons, glia, neurosecretory cells and interneurons). We found neuronal, but not glial, nuclei occupied stereotyped locations. We added 75 new Gal4 markers to the atlas to identify over 50% of all interneurons in the ventral CNS, and these lines allowed functional access to those interneurons for the first time. We expect the atlas-builder software to benefit a large proportion of the developmental biology community, and the eNeuro atlas to serve as a publicly accessible hub for integrating neuronal attributes - cell lineage, gene expression patterns, axon/dendrite projections, neurotransmitters--and linking them to individual neurons.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Institute of Molecular Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Ellie S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Heckscher
authors.affiliation: Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: Fuhui
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Institute of Molecular Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Layden
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Institute of Molecular Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Chein-Hui
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Institute of Molecular Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Laurina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Institute of Molecular Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Jourdain
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richart
authors.affiliation: Program in Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 275995, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.affiliation: Program in Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 275995, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Crews
authors.affiliation: Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: Hanchuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Institute of Molecular Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA cdoe@uoregon.edu.
authors.forename: Chris Q
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Doe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology*; D019295:Computational Biology; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005819:Genetic Markers; D007395:Interneurons / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D051381:Rats; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005819:Genetic Markers; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents
keywords: Atlas; Gal4 lines; Gene expression; Interneurons; Neuronal diversity