Connectivity in the Nematode Nervous System

描述（由申请人提供）：一个新的计算机辅助系统将 为线虫神经系统的连续切片重建而开发 从电子显微镜。通过快速准确的重建， 这个系统将使我们有可能比较单个动物的确切神经连接， 在不同的发展阶段，在两性之间，在行为上， 从这个模式生物中分离出来的突变体将设计新的技术和方法 并测试了所有数字格式数据的处理， 电镜数字化数据将允许开发计算机辅助的 在电子显微镜图像中标记细胞轮廓的方法， 重建细胞形状、突触关系和完整的线路 图.轴突位置，轴突大小， 轨迹和突触关系将存储在SAS数据集中， 从切片数据追踪神经元。这将允许转换和显示 将截面数据转换为3D渲染对象，以便与GFP标记的 细胞原始数据和处理后的3D数据将与C。elegans 在网站上和CD上的社区。该项目将在 中心为C。elegans解剖学，NCRR资助的资源，提供TEM 专业知识社区。 成年雄性尾部的100个神经元的突触连接，包括 肛门前神经节和腰神经节，将在两只动物中进行比较， 连续切片，以及通过与GFP标记的神经元的比较。这 线虫神经系统的一部分从未被充分重建 以前。肛前神经节回路提供了一个独特的机会， 探索一组定义的突触的发育和功能， 在一个系统中的胚后生命，这不是生存所必需的， 雌雄同体的物种

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A new computer-aided system will be developed for the serial section reconstruction of the nematode nervous system from electron micrographs. By enabling fast and accurate reconstructions, this system will make it possible to compare the exact wiring of individual animals, at different stages of development, between the two sexes, and in behavioral mutants from this model organism. New techniques and methods will be designed and tested for the handling of all data in digital format subsequent to electron microscopy. Digitized data will allow development of computer assisted approaches to marking cell profiles in electron microscopic images and reconstructing the cell shapes, synaptic relationships, and complete wiring diagrams. Three dimensional information on axon position, axon size, trajectory, and synaptic relationships will be stored in a SAS dataset for each traced neuron from sectional data. This will allow the conversion and display of sectional data into 3D rendered objects for comparison with GFP-labeled cells. Raw data and processed 3D data will be shared with the C. elegans community on a website and on CDs. The project will be coordinated at the Center for C. elegans Anatomy, an NCRR-funded resource which provides TEM expertise to the community. The synaptic wiring of the 100 neurons of the adult male tail, including the preanal ganglion and the lumbar ganglia, will be compared in two animals in serial sections, as well as through comparisons with GFP-labeled neurons. This portion of the nematode nervous system has never been adequately reconstructed previously. The preanal ganglion circuitry provides a unique opportunity to explore the development and function of a defined set of synapses during postembryonic life in a system which is not essential for survival in this hermaphroditic species.