Satisfactory Olfactory Nerves

Smell is important for flies, telling them what is and isn’t safe to eat. The fly nerves that sense smells pass the message on to olfactory projection neurons (PNs), which signal to the parts of the brain that decode it. Forming these kinds of nerve systems is complex, using many different steps to ensure that nerves end up in the right place, with the right connections. Scientists developed a fly that had one PN, the DA1 vPN, which was fluorescent (shown in green) so they could study how these processes affected it. They eliminated particular genes and found that this changed how the DA1 vPN grew. For example, reducing a gene called Dscam1 stopped the nerve’s axons from branching out like the ones shown here bottom right. This could help us understand how nerve system formation is controlled in humans, and how it can go wrong.

Written by Esther Redhouse White

Esther Redhouse White

Writer

A recent Biochemistry graduate from York, Esther has worked on bacterial killing proteins and genetic switches in worms. In her spare time she likes visiting museums full of skeletons.

• Image from work by Hung-Chang Shen, Jia-Yi Wei , Sao-Yu Chu, Pei-Chi Chung, Tsai-Chi Hsu and Hung-Hsiang Yu
• Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS One, May 2016