title: Two Pairs of ON and OFF Retinal Ganglion Cells Are Defined by Intersectional Patterns of Transcription Factor Expression.
abstract: Visual information is conveyed to the brain by axons of >30 retinal ganglion cell (RGC) types. Characterization of these types is a prerequisite to understanding visual perception. Here, we identify a family of RGCs that we call F-RGCs on the basis of expression of the transcription factor Foxp2. Intersectional expression of Foxp1 and Brn3 transcription factors divides F-RGCs into four types, comprising two pairs, each composed of closely related cells. One pair, F-mini(ON) and F-mini(OFF), shows robust direction selectivity. They are among the smallest RGCs in the mouse retina. The other pair, F-midi(ON) and F-midi(OFF), is larger and not direction selective. Together, F-RGCs comprise >20% of RGCs in the mouse retina, halving the number that remain to be classified and doubling the number of known direction-selective cells. Co-expression of Foxp and Brn3 genes also marks subsets of RGCs in macaques that could be primate homologs of F-RGCs.
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain Science and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Rousso
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain Science and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Mu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain Science and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Ruth D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Kagan
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain Science and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamagata
authors.affiliation: HHMI and Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Palmiter
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain Science and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Electronic address: sanesj@mcb.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Joshua R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sanes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016880:Anisotropy; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology; D002452:Cell Count; D048430:Cell Shape; D048429:Cell Size; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D008251:Macaca; D051379:Mice; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C432918:Foxp2 protein, mouse; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors