Abstract
Precise, repeatable genetic access to specific neurons via GAL4/UAS and related methods is a key advantage of Drosophila neuroscience. Neuronal targeting is typically documented using light microscopy of full GAL4 expression patterns, which generally lack the single-cell resolution required for reliable cell type identification. Here we use stochastic GAL4 labeling with the MultiColor FlpOut approach to generate cellular resolution confocal images at large scale. We are releasing aligned images of 74,000 such adult central nervous systems. An anticipated use of this resource is to bridge the gap between neurons identified by electron or light microscopy. Identifying individual neurons that make up each GAL4 expression pattern improves the prediction of split-GAL4 combinations targeting particular neurons. To this end we have also developed the NeuronBridge search tool. NeuronBridge rapidly and effectively identifies neuron matches based on morphology across imaging modalities and datasets.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Single neuron image dataset completed with 47,000 additional Drosophila brain/VNC samples; added PatchPerPixMatch neuron segmentation-based search; added analysis of search performance; NeuronBridge updated with above data and search functionality; most figures updated; authors updated.
