PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jasek, Sanja
AU  - Verasztó, Csaba
AU  - Brodrick, Emelie
AU  - Shahidi, Réza
AU  - Kazimiers, Tom
AU  - Jékely, Gáspár
TI  - Desmosomal connectomics of all somatic muscles in an annelid larva
AID  - 10.1101/2021.06.09.447732
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.06.09.447732
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/06/10/2021.06.09.447732.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/06/10/2021.06.09.447732.full
AB  - Cells form networks in animal tissues through synaptic, chemical and adhesive links. In muscle tissue, cells often connect through desmosomes, adhesive structures anchored by intermediate filaments. To study desmosomal networks, we reconstructed 852 muscle cells and their desmosomal partners by serial electron microscopy in an entire larva of the annelid Platynereis. Muscle cells adhere to each other, to epithelial, glial, ciliated, and bristle-producing cells and to the basal lamina, forming a desmosomal connectome of over 2,000 cells. The aciculae – chitin rods that form an endoskeleton in the segmental parapodia – are highly connected hubs in this network. This agrees with the many degrees of freedom of their movement, as revealed by video microscopy. Mapping motoneuron synapses to the desmosomal connectome highlighted the extent of tissue influenced by individual motoneuron classes. Our work shows how cellular-level maps of synaptic and adherent force networks can elucidate body mechanics.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.