PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Meng-Fu Maxwell Shih
AU  - Fred P. Davis
AU  - Gilbert Lee Henry
AU  - Josh Dubnau
TI  - Nuclear transcriptomes of the seven neuronal cell types that constitute the <em>Drosophila</em> mushroom bodies
AID  - 10.1101/412569
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 412569
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/09/10/412569.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/09/10/412569.full
AB  - The insect mushroom body (MB) is a conserved brain structure that plays key roles in a diverse array of behaviors. The Drosophila melanogaster MB is the primary invertebrate model of neural circuits related to memory formation and storage, and its development, morphology, wiring, and function has been extensively studied. MBs consist of intrinsic Kenyon Cells that are divided into three major neuron classes (γ, α’/β’ and α/β) and 7 cell subtypes (γd, γm, α’/β’ap, α’/β’m, α/βp, α/βs and α/βc) based on their birth order, morphology, and connectivity. These subtypes play distinct roles in memory processing, however the underlying transcriptional differences are unknown. Here, we used RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to profile the nuclear transcriptomes of each MB neuronal cell subtypes. We identified 350 MB class- or subtype-specific genes, including the widely used α/β class marker Fas2 and the α’/β’ class marker trio. Immunostaining corroborates the RNA-seq measurements at the protein level for several cases. Importantly, our data provide a full accounting of the neurotransmitter receptors, transporters, neurotransmitter biosynthetic enzymes, neuropeptides, and neuropeptide receptors expressed within each of these cell types. This high-quality, cell type-level transcriptome catalog for the Drosophila MB provides a valuable resource for the fly neuroscience community.