Identification and dynamics of molecules involved in selective synapse formation

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Synapses are specialized junctions through which neurons signal to each other and to other target cells such as muscles and are crucial to the functioning of the nervous system. Neurons select and synapse with specific target cells. This "synaptic specificity" underlies the proper functioning of the nervous system. In this study, we used highly sophisticated Drosophila genetics to reveal a novel mechanism by which neurons find and recognize their target cells. We also succeeded in visualizing the process of synapse formation in developing embryos and elucidated a molecular mechanism of synapse formation that occurs in an intact organism.