title: Dual Anterograde and Retrograde Viral Tracing of Reciprocal Connectivity.
abstract: Current large-scale approaches in neuroscience aim to unravel the complete connectivity map of specific neuronal circuits, or even the entire brain. This emerging research discipline has been termed connectomics. Recombinant glycoprotein-deleted rabies virus (RABV ∆G) has become an important tool for the investigation of neuronal connectivity in the brains of a variety of species. Neuronal infection with even a single RABV ∆G particle results in high-level transgene expression, revealing the fine-detailed morphology of all neuronal features-including dendritic spines, axonal processes, and boutons-on a brain-wide scale. This labeling is eminently suitable for subsequent post-hoc morphological analysis, such as semiautomated reconstruction in 3D. Here we describe the use of a recently developed anterograde RABV ∆G variant together with a retrograde RABV ∆G for the investigation of projections both to, and from, a particular brain region. In addition to the automated reconstruction of a dendritic tree, we also give as an example the volume measurements of axonal boutons following RABV ∆G-mediated fluorescent marker expression. In conclusion RABV ∆G variants expressing a combination of markers and/or tools for stimulating/monitoring neuronal activity, used together with genetic or behavioral animal models, promise important insights in the structure-function relationship of neural circuits.
authors.affiliation: Neurocentre Magendie, Physiopathologie de la plasticité neuronale, INSERM, U862, Bordeaux, France.|Neurocentre Magendie, Physiopathologie de la plasticité neuronale, The Neuroscience Institute at Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux, U862, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33077, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Matthias G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Haberl
authors.affiliation: Neurocentre Magendie, Physiopathologie de la plasticité neuronale, INSERM, U862, Bordeaux, France.|Neurocentre Magendie, Physiopathologie de la plasticité neuronale, The Neuroscience Institute at Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux, U862, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33077, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ginger
authors.affiliation: Neurocentre Magendie, Physiopathologie de la plasticité neuronale, INSERM, U862, Bordeaux, France. andreas.frick@inserm.fr.|Neurocentre Magendie, Physiopathologie de la plasticité neuronale, The Neuroscience Institute at Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux, U862, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33077, Bordeaux, France. andreas.frick@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D063132:Connectome / Q000379:methods*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000378:metabolism; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology*; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology*; D014162:Transfection; D064878:Web Browser
keywords: Axonal arbor; Connectome; Dendritic spines; Neural circuits; Neuroanatomy; Projections; Pseudotyping; Rabies virus; Sparse labeling