近日，美国哈佛医学院Wei-Chung Allen Lee及其研究组通过使用自动化透射电镜，实现对成年果蝇中的运动控制回路的重建。这一研究成果于2021年1月4日在线发表在《细胞》上。

为了研究运动行为的潜在回路机制，研究人员使用了连续截面电子显微镜（EM）来获取包含成年雌性黑腹果蝇腹神经索（VNC）的突触分辨率数据集。为了生成此数据集，研究人员开发了GridTape，该技术将自动序列部分收集与自动高通量传输EM相结合。使用这个数据集，研究人员测试了神经元网络，该神经元网络通过重建控制肢体的所有507个运动神经元来控制腿和翅膀的运动。

结果表明，一类特殊的腿部感觉神经元直接突触到运动神经元，而在身体两侧都具有最大口径的轴突，这代表了快速肢体控制的独特途径。研究人员提供了对数据集的开放访问和注册，以及标准图集的重建，这能够将EM和光学显微镜数据之间的细胞匹配。研究人员还提供了GridTape指南设计和软件，从而使大型EM对科学界来说更易于访问和能够负担。

附：英文原文

Title: Reconstruction of motor control circuits in adult Drosophila using automated transmission electron microscopy

Author: Jasper S. Phelps, David Grant Colburn Hildebrand, Brett J. Graham, Aaron T. Kuan, Logan A. Thomas, Tri M. Nguyen, Julia Buhmann, Anthony W. Azevedo, Anne Sustar, Sweta Agrawal, Mingguan Liu, Brendan L. Shanny, Jan Funke, John C. Tuthill, Wei-Chung Allen Lee

Issue&Volume: 2021-01-04

Abstract: To investigate circuit mechanisms underlying locomotor behavior, we used serial-sectionelectron microscopy (EM) to acquire a synapse-resolution dataset containing the ventralnerve cord (VNC) of an adult female Drosophila melanogaster. To generate this dataset, we developed GridTape, a technology that combines automatedserial-section collection with automated high-throughput transmission EM. Using thisdataset, we studied neuronal networks that control leg and wing movements by reconstructingall 507 motor neurons that control the limbs. We show that a specific class of legsensory neurons synapses directly onto motor neurons with the largest-caliber axonson both sides of the body, representing a unique pathway for fast limb control. Weprovide open access to the dataset and reconstructions registered to a standard atlasto permit matching of cells between EM and light microscopy data. We also provideGridTape instrumentation designs and software to make large-scale EM more accessibleand affordable to the scientific community.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.12.013

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)31683-4