RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Connectomes across development reveal principles of brain maturation in C. elegans JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2020.04.30.066209 DO 10.1101/2020.04.30.066209 A1 Daniel Witvliet A1 Ben Mulcahy A1 James K. Mitchell A1 Yaron Meirovitch A1 Daniel R. Berger A1 Yuelong Wu A1 Yufang Liu A1 Wan Xian Koh A1 Rajeev Parvathala A1 Douglas Holmyard A1 Richard L. Schalek A1 Nir Shavit A1 Andrew D. Chisholm A1 Jeff W. Lichtman A1 Aravinthan D.T. Samuel A1 Mei Zhen YR 2020 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/04/30/2020.04.30.066209.abstract AB From birth to adulthood, an animal’s nervous system changes as its body grows and its behaviours mature. However, the extent of circuit remodeling across the connectome is poorly understood. Here, we used serial-section electron microscopy to reconstruct the brain of eight isogenic C. elegans individuals at different ages to learn how an entire wiring diagram changes with maturation. We found that the overall shape of the nervous system is preserved from birth to adulthood, establishing a constant scaffold upon which synaptic change is built. We observed substantial connectivity differences among individuals that make each brain partly unique. We also observed developmental synaptic changes that are consistent between animals but different among neurons, altering the strengths of existing connections and creating additional connections. Collective synaptic changes alter information processing of the brain. Across maturation, the decision-making circuitry is maintained whereas sensory and motor pathways are substantially remodelled, and the brain becomes progressively more modular and feedforward. These synaptic changes reveal principles by which maturation shapes brain and behavior across development.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.