title: Automated in situ brain imaging for mapping the Drosophila connectome.
abstract: Mapping the connectome, a wiring diagram of the entire brain, requires large-scale imaging of numerous single neurons with diverse morphology. It is a formidable challenge to reassemble these neurons into a virtual brain and correlate their structural networks with neuronal activities, which are measured in different experiments to analyze the informational flow in the brain. Here, we report an in situ brain imaging technique called Fly Head Array Slice Tomography (FHAST), which permits the reconstruction of structural and functional data to generate an integrative connectome in Drosophila. Using FHAST, the head capsules of an array of flies can be opened with a single vibratome sectioning to expose the brains, replacing the painstaking and inconsistent brain dissection process. FHAST can reveal in situ brain neuroanatomy with minimal distortion to neuronal morphology and maintain intact neuronal connections to peripheral sensory organs. Most importantly, it enables the automated 3D imaging of 100 intact fly brains in each experiment. The established head model with in situ brain neuroanatomy allows functional data to be accurately registered and associated with 3D images of single neurons. These integrative data can then be shared, searched, visualized, and analyzed for understanding how brain-wide activities in different neurons within the same circuit function together to control complex behaviors.
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Biotechnology, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chi-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Biotechnology, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsuan-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: b Brain Research Center, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mei-Tzu
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: b Brain Research Center, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yung-Hsin
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Biotechnology, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ting-Yuan
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: b Brain Research Center, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiu-Ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Biotechnology, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan.|b Brain Research Center, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan.|c Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica , Taipei , Taiwan.|d Department of Biomedical Science and Environmental Biology , Kaohsiung Medical University , Kaohsiung , Taiwan.|e Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, University of California , San Diego, La Jolla, California , USA.
authors.forename: Ann-Shyn
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Chiang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism; D063132:Connectome / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004330:Drosophila / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D059906:Neuroimaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins
keywords: Connectome; Drosophila; head array; in situ brain imaging