title: Quantitative neuroanatomy for connectomics in Drosophila.
abstract: Neuronal circuit mapping using electron microscopy demands laborious proofreading or reconciliation of multiple independent reconstructions. Here, we describe new methods to apply quantitative arbor and network context to iteratively proofread and reconstruct circuits and create anatomically enriched wiring diagrams. We measured the morphological underpinnings of connectivity in new and existing reconstructions of Drosophila sensorimotor (larva) and visual (adult) systems. Synaptic inputs were preferentially located on numerous small, microtubule-free 'twigs' which branch off a single microtubule-containing 'backbone'. Omission of individual twigs accounted for 96% of errors. However, the synapses of highly connected neurons were distributed across multiple twigs. Thus, the robustness of a strong connection to detailed twig anatomy was associated with robustness to reconstruction error. By comparing iterative reconstruction to the consensus of multiple reconstructions, we show that our method overcomes the need for redundant effort through the discovery and application of relationships between cellular neuroanatomy and synaptic connectivity.
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Casey M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-3853
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Schneider-Mizell
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.|Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.|Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gerhard
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.|Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Longair
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kazimiers
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Maarten F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Zwart
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Champion
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Frank M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Midgley
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Fetter
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4106-1761
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saalfeld
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cardona
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063132:Connectome / Q000379:methods*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D009420:Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena
keywords: <i>d. melanogaster</i>; connectomics; neuroanatomy; neuroscience; proprioception